Expanding Our Horizons
Clubs are one of the main highlights of a high school experience. According to a United States Census conducted in 2014, about 28.8% of American teenagers in high school participate in clubs (second only to teens who participate in sports). Clubs are a great way for students to expand their horizons and learn about things they never thought that they could do. Not only this, but clubs also give students the chance to meet new people and create new friendships and a stronger community. At Denali, we don’t have quite as many as opportunities for students to join clubs as larger schools do. However, we are working to give students the chance to explore new passions as students take on responsibility to create clubs of their own.
Many of these clubs go undiscovered because of their constant developments. Today you’ll get you an inside look at some high school clubs that you might not know existed. Most of our clubs are run by students like yourself who wanted to share their passions with the rest of the school. Students in starting their own club, our school is always open to it! Contact Ms. Ro (the ninth grade english teacher) to fill out a request form.
If students are interested in joining any of these clubs, you can contact the club leaders or go to The Grizzly website where you’ll be able to fill out an interest form. We’ll forward your message to the club leaders to let them know as soon as possible. You’ll be part of the club in no time!
3D Printing Club
Run by: Kevin E. and Drew H.
Meetings: Every Wednesday after school from 3:45-5:00
3D printing club was one of the first clubs that was offered. “Heather Chen started the club when I was in sixth grade so I decided to join because I thought it looked interesting,” Drew stated when asked about the club. “I felt like I could learn a lot about 3D printing.”
Created in sixth grade as a parent run club, leadership positions have been handed down to passionate club members who have stuck with it through middle and into their high school years. Sophomores Kevin and Drew are just some of the students who have been working to develop the club. When asked if they are happy with how the club has been developing over the four and a half years it has been going, they were very positive. “So far we are very happy about to see how much the club has progressed. We started with about twenty members and now we have about sixty.” Don’t be mistaken, the club is still looking for interested members. “I think anyone interested in building things from scratch, 3D print/design, or tinkering would have a great time in our club,” Drew told me. “And members don’t just have to work on 3D printing,” Kevin let me know. “There are a lot of other options.”
What are these options? Well, of course 3D printing and engineering are some of the most prominent projects. The club is currently working on creating a foosball table from scratch. For those of you who may not know what a foosball table is, the actual game can be compared to a miniature game of soccer (but without actual players). The table consists of small doll-like “players” who are controlled by the actual people playing the game. Members of the club are working to create the paddles, players, scoreboards, and encaps. Normally, club members work on projects that they all decide on.
In the future, Kevin and Drew want to develop the club in several different ways. “We're planning to develop the club by adding more members, expanding the project options, and increasing the overall enjoyment for the members of the 3D printing club.”
Book Club
Run by: Chloe S. and Maddy W.
Meetings: Once every month during lunch
Book clubs are found all over the country because of the generations of children, teens, and adults who love to read, discuss, and explore the different messages authors try to send to us through their pieces of art. “My friend (Chloe), and I decided to start the book club because we all love to read and wanted to share our love of literature with each other,” Maddy stated when asked about why the club was started.
The club mostly readers young adult novels. In the past, they’ve read Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth and The Female of the Species by Mindy Mcginnis. However, the cub is hoping to expand the genres that they read. They are open to any ideas that member have. During meetings, the club answers questions that members have about the books and brainstorm ideas for the next book to read. “So far I am very happy with how the club has turned out. We have been meeting regularly, and people are excited to talk about the books we read,” Maddy let me know.
Interested in joining the book club? According to the the leaders of the club, members should be able to read a book in a set amount of time while also being able to bring new perspectives and ideas about the book and it’s meaning.
Journalism Club
Run by: Ellen H.
Meetings: Every Monday during lunch (with optional meetings on Fridays during lunch)
As some of you may know, The Grizzly is written and published by members of the Denali high school journalism club. The club releases four issues a year, each issue providing articles on topics that the members are interested in. “It’s a great way for the members to share their passions with their fellow peers,” Ellen, founder and Editor in Chief, wrote. “I think it’s important for students to be able to write about things they’re passionate about- whether it’s their opinions on important events or reviews of books and movies they’ve enjoyed.”
Unlike other clubs, the journalism requires a large amount of commitment. “We’re providing an actual product, so members have to be able to write, send for editing, and revise in the provided time,” says Ellen. “I try to minimize the time that they have to write outside of clubs- meetings are usually time for people to work on their articles.”
Club members are expected to contribute at least four articles throughout the year- one for each issue. Last year the club only released on issue where members conducted interviews, wrote reviews, and comical adventures. The club is very excited to have the same members back with them again, providing a wide range of articles. The club is working to release their second issue. Are you wondering where they get inspiration? “Most of the time we start talking about random topics during our meetings, which make for interesting article ideas!” Ellen muses.
Ellen H. and Rett T. are working on developing the paper for their expeditions independent study. They are hoping to have the fourth issue printed and available for students to purchase at the end the year.
Photography Club
Run by: Ellen H.
Meetings: Twice a month on Wednesdays during lunch
Photography has played a large part of our current society. The camera’s ability to capture memories through different techniques are always being invented and re-designed. This is what the photography club explores.
Each month the club focuses on a different type of photography where members are able to focus and improve photography skills related to the styles. “During our first meeting, we give some examples and talk about techniques while the second meeting we share our photos,” Ellen said when asked about the topic. For the month of November, the club was focusing on urban photography. The month before, black and white photography. “We let the club choose what kind of photography they want to focus on,” Ellen and Claire said. This is in an attempt to keep the members interested in the club while letting them explore topics that will keep them engaged.
Interested in joining the club? The photography club is happy to welcome anyone looking to learn about or improving their photography skills.
Robotics Club
Run by: Mark M.
Meetings: Whenever Necessary
Living in Silicon Valley provides us with many engineering opportunities; robotics club is one of these. “I decided to start the club because I felt our school needed some kind of outlet for kids who wanted to try engineering related things and a robotics club would be great for that,” Mark let me know when I reached out to him about his club.
The robotics club spends their meetings discussing the results of competitions they have been in and working to improve their robot. Mark hopes to later raise funds to purchase more robots so that members have more to do during the meetings. “I am pretty happy with how the club is going so far, however we are still working on giving the club more structure and finding more dedicated members,” Mark wrote to me.
Dedication is a large aspect of the club, as Mark emphasized to me. “I want people who are dedicated to the club to join, they don't even need to know how to code or know anything about engineering, as long as they are willing to learn and are dedicated.” Meetings do not have set times and members should be able to attend competitions that the club decides to participate in. However, don’t be discouraged! The club is a place to nurture engineering and team skills while being able to participate in other competitions.
Tutoring Club
Run by: Christina N.
Meetings: Monday through Wednesday from 3:45-4:45
Need help with a playlist or project? Do you feel like you want to take on a leadership position? Well, tutoring club may just be the place for you. The club’s goal is to help Denali students understand content that is difficult for them while also improving leadership skills for tutors. “During meetings, tutors just help students that come in. When there are no students who need help, tutors just do their homework,” Christina let me know.
Tutors for the club sign up for shifts which work with their schedule. If you don’t have a shift, you are not required to be there. Anyone who needs tutoring can come in at any time and will receive help from the tutors.
The club is open to everyone at the school, both middle and high schoolers. When asked about traits that are helpful when joining the club, Christina told me, “People who have extra time on their hands and are on track/ahead. People who like helping others are also great.”
Writing Club
Run by: Andrew L. and Leopold C.
Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays after school
Right after I had decided to write this article, I received an email from Andrew about a new club that he and Leopold were starting: writing club. It was a clear sign to me- this was the article to work on.
I met with Leopold and Andrew before their first meeting (the meeting was later in the afternoon while I met with them during brunch). For this reason, they hadn’t publicized their club yet, reaching out to only a few people they thought would be interested. “At least 5-6 people were emailed about it in the beginning,” Andrew let me know. “We’re hoping to reach out to more in the next few weeks.”
The club follows a very-free form system. There is no member system and instead of having a set project to follow, those who attend the meetings are let loose to write whatever they want. Writing for schoolwork is also allowed. The main goal of the club is to spark a love of writing while giving members a chance to be in an atmosphere that is relaxed and welcoming.
When asked why they started the club, Andrew and Leopold immediately looked at each other. It was clear there was some story behind this. “I think that this all really started with Leo started writing his book,” Andrew told me. “But the manuscript was awful,” Leopold added, putting his head onto the desk. “So I had to start over.”
If students are interested in joining the club, the boys highly suggest a love of writing (or a wanted love or writing). Creativity is also helpful, but is something that will be built as members continue to write. As the club has no member system, members are free to come and leave as needed; No obligations to the club are held.
Young Dreamers Club
Run by: Chloe S.
Meetings: Thursdays during lunch
This club provides students with the opportunity to build their leadership skills along with helping their community in a variety of different volunteer options. Originally started by teachers at the beginning of last year, the club is now run by students. In the past year, members have volunteered at multiple venues, such as First Harvest Food Banks.
Being a part of the club requires students to step up for themselves and their fellow peers. “ Young Dreamers involves a lot of stepping up and making things happen yourself,” Jo M., the fundraising chair, let me know.
The club meets regularly to catch up on what is happening between volunteer opportunities. A facilitated check-in occurs at the beginning of meetings and moves on to updates from the communications chair and the fundraising chair.
Just last month the club hosted a food drive and are working towards earning enough money to go on a trip to Costa Rica to help out in the country.
