Club Overview
By: Quinn Isenberg
Clubs across GS have started up and have exciting things planned for their members.
From interacting with the community to getting together with students who share interests, there is something for everyone to get involved in.
Students looking to gain community service hours and make a difference will be interested in checking out the Interact Club.
“The cool thing about Interact is that it’s networking around the world since the Interact Club is an international organization,” president of the Interact Club Ian Smith said. “You learn a lot about volunteer opportunities in other countries and how you can help.”
The GS Interact Club has begun helping across the globe, starting with orphaned children in Ukraine. The club has already distributed 15 tags that include the name of a Ukrainian orphan and a list of items they need to club members.
“We have already distributed them, so at this point we are not sure if there’s any more to give,” Smith said. “If people really want to do it, we certainly could have students collaborating to buy stuff for the same orphan.”
The club will be attending a conference with other Interact Clubs in the area to discuss more community service opportunities in the future.
“On Oct. 17 during school we have our district interact conference with the Rotary Club at Greensburg Country Club,” he said.
Interact Club isn’t the only club looking to better the community. Another wonderful option for students looking to get involved is the SADD club.
“SADD Club has Red Ribbon Week, which is very exciting, lots of club meetings and fundraisers,” vice president of the SADD Club Riley Campbell said.
Red Ribbon Week is a campaign that focuses on preventing drug use. Joining SADD Club allows students to play a part in keeping their peers drug free.
“Red Ribbon Week is Oct. 21-25, and the theme is: Life is A Movie, Film Drug Free,” Campbell said.
SADD Club’s community involvement doesn’t end with Red Ribbon Week. The club is also very involved with projects relating to Sage’s Army.
“We work with people who run school therapy sessions and do a lot of community outreach,” she said. “We will work with them and also do our own community outreach.”
Not all students feel their communication skills are strong enough to participate in community wide events such as those in Interact Club or SADD Club. Students looking to improve these skills should look to join the Speech and Debate Club.
Speech and Debate officers promote GS for T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights Sweepstakes.
Photo By: Mrs. Andrea Redinger
“A big part of Speech and Debate is that it’s an opportunity to work on yourself, work on your emotions and work on your speaking skills,” vice president of Speech and Debate Emily Ziska said.
The club also hosts festivals for those looking to expand upon their skills and compete against other Speech and Debate members.
“Festivals are where people are finding what they like, what they want to do and working on whatever makes them happy,” Ziska said. “There is also the more competitive stuff like debating.”
The open-endedness of the club allows for many different types of students to find their place within Speech and Debate.
Students who find the competitive aspect of Speech and Debate particularly exciting should consider joining the Chess Club. Like debating, chess can help students become more calculated and innovative.
“It helps you look ahead on your future plans, because in chess you have to plan your moves ahead of time,” president of the Chess Club Elijah Miller said.
To enhance these skills, the Chess Club maintains a very competitive nature during their meetings.
“We have Mr. Lenzi make us a bracket and every Tuesday we come together and do the tournament,” Miller said.
Students who do well in the club will have the chance to attend a tournament between other highly skilled chess players in the area.
“We have a chess tournament planned for November and will have in-house tournaments to determine who’s going to the big tournament,” secretary of the Chess Club Lucy Giovannelli said.
There are also plenty of options for students who like more relaxed environments where they can collaborate with others who share their interests. One of these clubs is the Guitar Club.
“Sometimes we have members who have been with it for a while who like to jam with each other and it’s always exciting when out of nowhere a song starts to happen and they’re all combining their efforts,” Advisor of the Guitar Club Mr. Darryl Audia said.
For those who aren’t as experienced at the guitar, the club serves as motivation to get better.
“The goal is to at least learn a couple chords and stuff like that,” Mr. Audia said. “The hope by the end is, if people want to continue to come, that they do some of their own research.”
Experienced members in the club will even come together on occasion to put on performances for other students.
Members of guitar club preform in the Library.
Photo Courtesy: Mr. Audia
“The thing we’ve done historically the last two years is the week right before holiday break we will have a coffee shop-like performance that will be in the library probably during lunches,” he said.
Like Guitar Club, French Club members come together over a shared interest and orchestrate an incredible performance every year. This performance is none other than Culture Day.
“The officers themselves go on stage and announce any sort of French speaking activities during Culture Day,” vice president of the French Club Alyssa Barber said. “The food taste testing that went on last year was entirely run by French Club.”
French Club has a lot to offer students interested in French even outside of Culture Day.
“We do a lot of fun things,” Barber said. “This year we’re planning on going to the French bakery in South Greensburg, get together to play games and do things for the trip.”
Students looking to improve their experience at GS should look for a club that interests them and begin making connections with their peers.
“Really it’s about networking and getting these friendships to grow,” Mr. Audia said.
The Lions' Den 