During the school year, students are influenced by different clubs whose purposes range from cultural, academic, community-based, promoting special interests and more. They appreciate that the clubs provide a social outlet, activities and a shared purpose participants can bond over.

SCHS hosted a Club Faire at the beginning of the school year that allowed students to learn about every club and decide which ones they would like to join. Club board members used it as an opportunity to reach out to the school community and gain new members.

Media manager of the Dihydrogen Monoxide Water Club, junior Grace Calfee, reflected on her experience at the Club Faire.

“We were loud, and we were really talking with people,” Calfee said. “Clubs are about people and about friends, so making those connections definitely helps us get a lot of people.”

Theater director and English teacher Angelo Reyes is the advisor for the Drama Club and the Do-Re-Me-Fa Charity Club. He explained having clubs on campus is an advantage that provides a space for every SCHS student.

“They (clubs) help kids, especially the newer freshmen and maybe even sophomores that are coming in and may be a little intimidated,” Reyes said.

Cultural clubs allow students to meet people of the same ethnicity as them, learn more about their cultures and appreciate cultural traditions.

When junior Nicklaus Chui began his freshman year, he was able to find a club at SCHS where he could meet people of the same ethnicity.

“I was one of the only Chinese kids out there (Buchser Middle School), and I honestly really didn’t know anyone other than myself and my brother that was Chinese,” Chui said. “So knowing that there’s a club I can resonate with… makes me feel not alone.”

Many students join community service clubs to help fulfill their service hour requirements, or to express their passion for helping others.

Senior Rida Faraz’s passion for service prompted her to pursue taking on the role of vice president for SCHS’s UNICEF club.

“It really struck, seeing its mission to help out children and empower students (and) to be able to take action to help out with the mission,” Faraz said.

For SCHS students, clubs tend to be an important part of students’ lives, whether it is a social outlet to interact with other students who share a special interest, a place to organize positive impacts in the community, or an opportunity to bond over interests..

“Clubs offer both a social and emotional place to express your feelings, express your opinions and then also find other people who are similar to you,” Calfee said. “They’re a way to fundraise and support causes that you feel strongly about, but they are also ways to find friends and people who you connect with, which I think is really important in high school.”