By Sophia Rosas
As the first grading period nears its end, the time has come for students to get involved in extracurriculars once again. Clubs can serve as a home inside of a larger home where students of a common interest can gather together to develop their skills or hobbies. The club fair will tentatively take place on October 18th in the quad, but for now there are many new and previously existing clubs that deserve to be on students’ radars.
Being involved in clubs can be a great way to show dedication and interest on college applications. Leadership positions can look even better and teach important skills. Newer clubs are often looking for new members to fill these leadership positions, making them a great opportunity for students to take initiative, as well as support clubs on the rise! Some new clubs looking for more members include Flag Club (room 1054 Mondays at lunch) and Jacobin Book Club (room 1054 every other Friday at lunch).
Clubs can be a great way to show passion and be proactive in the community. For example, Green Peace (library every other Thursday at lunch) often puts together beach clean ups and gardening days. Art club allows students to express their creative skills no matter the level. Pointer Press and Poetry club both allow students to showcase their flair for writing, with the former being an opportunity to put research on relevant topics into articles and the latter allowing an outlet for the imaginative prose of students to run wild.
Along with teaching students valuable leadership skills, some clubs can be educational and even preparatory. Academic League (room 880, Wednesday and Thursdays at lunch) is a club where students can participate in academic competitions that resemble trivia matches. Teams compete within the school as well as against other schools. Model United Nations meets every other Friday at lunch in room 1054. Students can expect to participate in thoughtful debates as representatives of countries. Similarly, in President’s Club (room 1054 Tuesdays at lunch), students will participate in government simulations and get educated about various U.S. presidents from club president Nathan Little. When asked why students should join President’s Club, Little explained that it can be fun for everyone, people may learn a lot, and the information presented could be beneficial for American history classes.
Little places emphasis on the importance of students starting their own clubs and other students joining new ones at PLHS. “It’s important to promote student unity, and clubs can also be really good for college.” Regarding choosing what clubs to join this year, Little advised, “do stuff that interests you and not only things that are good for college.”
President’s club is just one example of the many new upcoming clubs that have arisen out of a shared interest between many students and how they can be beneficial to both the founders and the members. Clubs can be an integral aspect of an individual’s identity and even more so the identity of the school as a whole. Students of PLHS are lucky to attend a school with such a wide variety of high quality clubs founded by their fellow students, so joining at least one is a no brainer. The only question is, which one will it be?