As another school year continues at LHS, many new clubs are emerging and looking for members. Some of these clubs include: Car Club, Coding Club, PRISMA, Spikeball Club, ASL Club, Neuroscience Club, Film and Animations Club, Astrophysics Club and Environmental Club.
Car Club is a new, non-school-sponsored club that has started meeting outside of school, giving students an opportunity to learn engineering skills. Sophomore Adit Swami sat down with reporter Neel Patil for a podcast to discuss the future of the club. The club has begun building a go-kart with an engine that they collectively fundraised to purchase. Soon, Swami hopes to start entering the club’s custom go-kart in drifting races, and interested club members will be able to drive it.
Coding Club, led by juniors Navin Narayanan, Rachit Patel and Soham Vij, will meet every other Monday in Room 257. “This club was made to be a platform for everyone interested in the virtual world to have a place to get together and participate in discussions on hot topics like AI and learn about computer science careers,” Narayanan said. One big activity planned is the LHS Hackathon, where club members will create a project using computer science. Their project will be designed to solve a real world problem and get judged to eventually determine a winner. Some other activities planned include tech talks from professionals and field trips.
People Rallying in Support of More Acceptance is led by juniors Maddy Cox and Bethany Messenger. Meetings will be held during the second AcLab of each week, Mod 1, in Room 288. “[PRISMA] was created to ensure a safe place for LGBTQ+ students, as well as any allies or other students who want to make a difference or meet new friends,” Messenger said. Some planned activities include bracelet-making, creating a new bulletin board and talking about current issues.
Spikeball Club, led by senior Alyssa Nelson, juniors Kira Dufner, Megan Muschick and Maya Witherspoon, will meet on the shelf during AcLab. Dufner, Muschick, Nelson and Witherspoon all decided to form the club after playing spikeball together in August and are hoping to extend it to others who may also be interested in playing. The only activity is to play in teams of two and potentially compete.
ASL Club, started by ASL teacher Julie Bates, began in early October. “Students really wanted an ASL Club so they could continue learning ASL in fun ways because we do not offer any levels higher than [ASL] two,” Bates said. The club is planning on meeting twice a month and will either be held in Room 137 or Room 287, depending on the number of students that attend. Some activities include: designing an ASL club shirt, learning to sign the National Anthem to perform at school events, playing games, Wii bowling and participating in Deaf Inc.’s competitions.
Neuroscience Club is Lafayette Science Council’s newest addition. Led by sophomore Suchir Ryali, this club meets twice a month in Room 239. A big event in particular planned is to compete in the Brain Bee Competition, where students are tested on information about the brain and neuroscience research. Some other activities planned include: student-led presentations and dissecting sheep brains, as well as having guest speakers from research facilities demonstrate neuroprosthetics and discuss the work that they do. “We’re really trying to get the neuroscience club out there this year,” Ryali said.
Film and Animations Club was once at LHS and was student-led. “Once those seniors graduated, COVID-19 hit, and it got lost in the mix,” sponsor, art teacher Meghan Donnell said. O’Donnell is working towards getting it started up again this school year. Meetings will be held in Room 211 and will meet once or twice a month. As of now, the only activity planned is to teach people how to use the technology involved in film and animation. More activities have yet to be announced.
Astrophysics Club, led by sophomores Bhagya Avula and Lillian Zhang, will have its first meeting on Oct. 12 during Mod 2 in Room 248. The club was formed off of Zhang’s plan to study astrophysics in the future. Avula does not plan on studying it in the future but still has high interest in it. Meetings are scheduled once a week. “We plan on teaching a multitude of topics related to astronomy and astrophysics, as well as hosting trivia, bringing in food, conducting experiments (that are possible on earth), bringing in guest speakers and more,” Avula said.
Environmental Club had its first meeting Sept. 13, but will continue to meet on Wednesdays in Room 233. This club is led by juniors Ellis McCurdy and Evie Riordan, and is sponsored by science teacher Carrie Hall. “[Environmental] Club was created because one of the world’s biggest problems is the condition of our environment. Making the school’s relationship with nature greener is a great way to experiment with solutions,” McCurdy said. A regular activity for this club is growing plants, but other things planned for this year include fixing the school’s courtyard and working on the recycling program.
