by: Emma Fitzhugh | Staff Writer
As senior Chase Allen sits there, looking at the stocks before him, he knows that this skill could be very valuable later in his life. After thinking it over, he decides which stock he wants to trade and with whom to trade it to.
While the majority of teenagers spend their time trying to finish up their English essay or tweeting their best friend after school, Allen and many others are involved in clubs that might not be well known, but are just as fun as any other major club.
“We do monthly stock competitions. We get gift cards sometimes too and it’s pretty fun,” Allen said.
Allen is a member of the Investing club. Sponsored by history teacher Justin Felux, this club teaches students how to manage their money and stocks properly in order to be prepared for the real world.
“The main focus of the club is to teach people how to make money in the stock market and learn different strategies people use because you have to know about investing to be financially prepared for retirement,” Allen said.
With all of these activities in place, it seems as though this club would be well received by students of all grades. However, Allen explains how this club isn’t as well-known as possibly other organizations. He went on to say that he did notice this issue last year and tried to recruit more students by talking about the club with his friends and on social media. Several other clubs have also been faced with this problem of lack of publicity.
“Well it was sort of smaller [the club last year], because we didn’t put posters up and weren’t on Simulcast much. I feel like if more people knew about our club, they would join. Unfortunately, it’s a bit expensive because you have to pay five dollars for every time that you want to go bowling,” junior Rachel Gawlik creator of the Bowling Club, otherwise known as the “Alley Cats” said.
Despite this low-member count, the “Alley Cats” still find ways to make their club interesting and enjoyable.
“We went to Main Event and made a contract with them. We usually play a couple games and then last year we finished early one time so we went to laser tag,” Gawlik said.
Just like the bowling club, the American Chemical Society, sponsored by science teacher Patrick Cunningham, knows all about standing out from the rest.
“We usually have a service project every year, and this year we are focusing on clean water in underdeveloped countries. We usually have meetings every couple of months where we discuss a particular Chemistry topic that might not be in the regular curriculum. We almost always have a fun lab and that’s one of the reasons why we have dues; to buy materials. We do things that ordinarily wouldn’t happen in a chem class or even an AP chem class,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham went on to say how these science students also get involved in the community by incorporating science, technology, and other important skills that may not necessarily be taught in a classroom setting.
“Last year they [the club] went over to one of the elementary schools for a science and engineering night. It was very well received. The students are very interested in doing that again this year, so that’s another service project we plan on doing,” Cunningham said.
After discovering something they are interested in, for example service projects or bowling, some students may want to start up a club of their own. If they do, assistance principal Cynthia Rinehart knows exactly how to go about doing just that.
“First you (the student) have to have a teacher sponsor. Then, you must have at least 20 members and parent permission from each student. You’re also going to need approval for the sponsor, a written contract, or a constitution type paper. Once you have all that you can bring it to me and I’ll approve the club,” Rinehart said.
Rinehart went on to say that she alone is the assistant principal in charge of all of the clubs and organizations at our school, so a proposed club would only need to go through her before becoming official. One club that recently became official after gaining enough student interest was the Theater club. The club is sponsored by theater directors Jay Asterman and Suzanne Martin.
“We (Mrs. Martin and I) really wanted a theater club and the students really wanted it too. Mrs. Martin and I went through and made the contract and all that after gathering enough support and members. We promote it through our theater and theater productions classes. All of our advanced students are required to be in Theater club so right now we’re looking at roughly about 60 students in the club,” Asterman said.
Asterman went on to say how this club is open to anyone interested in any part of theater and how he believes the club will grow even more this year compared to last year.
“In our first year, a handful of very dedicated people came. This year it should go a lot smoother and bigger. Anyone that is interested in theater and improvisation can come watch or participate,” Asterman said.
