With the start of the new school year, clubs around LN are beginning to meet and recruit new members. LN has multiple different clubs for students with all kinds of interests. During the first week of Sept. some clubs will have tables set up for students to learn more about what they do and how to join. Many clubs will also be posting flyers around the school announcing their callout meetings where students can go to learn about what they do and if see if they are interested in joining. Here are a glance at some of the clubs that students can join around Lawrence North.

Lawrence Township Student Foundation

The Lawrence Township Student Foundation is a club made up of students from LN and LC that help to raise money for the township. The club helps to organize fundraising events that help to benefit schools around the township and give scholarships to senior members.

“We actually raise money and the money is for things like the MAC(my Achievement Center) here at the high schools or the legacy field trips, which is where the students go to Ruth Lily or anything that their subject is on. The events tend to be “bridging the gap” between elementary school students to high schoolers. The main basis to help the community,” Senior member Leetta Rainwater said.

Rainwater decided to join to be more involved with the entire community. She enjoys getting to do things for the elementary schools and the middle schools along with the high schools.

“I always was in clubs that were just LN based. I didn’t do anything that was the whole community. When I was told that it was everyone and I had friends that were in it, I really liked that it's not just one place that we are helping. It's all the elementary schoolers and that kind of thing, so that was a big thing for me,” Rainwater said.

Students can get involved in it by asking current members for more information about the meetings. The club will have a callout meeting on Aug. 17, which members can email more information to students seeking to join. Rainwater encourages students that looking to be more involved in the community and are willing to commit time to the club to join.

“You have to have good attendance and participation. If that's something that you are willing to do, definitely go for it but if you’re not willing to meet twice a month then I wouldn’t recommend it,” Rainwater said.

Robotics

The McKenzie Career Center robotics team 1024, is a nationally ranked team that competes in competitions around the state and sometimes in other states against other schools. The team competes through the IndianaFIRST program that gives teams from around the nation a set of challenges that their robots must complete in order to earn points and beat the other teams. In January, the team begins their build season in which they start designing and building their robot that they will operate in competitions. The team is comprised of students from both Lawrence North and Lawrence Central, as well as engineer mentors from around the community that assist the students in their designing, coding, and building of the robot.

Drama Club

Senior Linsey Babrick is starting her fourth year as a member of the drama club. Babrick joined the club after getting involved in theatre in eighth grade and has loved the time she has spent in the club.

“I started doing theatre when I was in eighth grade and I didn’t really do anything with school other that academics before that. When I got in musical production in eighth grade I really enjoyed it. I didn’t think I was that good and then I came to high school and I continued on with it. It's one of my favorite things to do here,” Babrick said.

Students in the club participate in improv games and other activities relating to theatre. Many of the members also participate in the school musicals and plays although they are not required to. Babrick plays a big part in helping to organize and run the club as president.

“As a Drama Club president, I help with the musicals and the plays. I help figure out when we have the meetings because drama club and the plays and musicals are way different. Some people who are in the drama club aren’t in the plays and so on,” Babrick said.

The club plans to have a callout meeting soon and invite anyone to come. Babrick encourages students to come to the callout to see if they might be interested in the club.

“Just do it. It's scary at first and it's intimidating but it's one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life, so just put yourself out there and don't be afraid,” Babrick said.

Best Buddies

Every year, the LN chapter of Best Buddies organizes events for students with disabilities and other high school students to get to know each other by participating in fun activities together. Senior Gigi Rowland has been a member since her freshman year and has gotten more involved in the club over the past few years.

“Best Buddies is an international organization that tries to create one on one friendships with people with disabilities and then just your average high school student. We just do events once a month, like hang out, meet other people and solidify those friendships,” Rowland said.

Rowland joined her freshman year because she enjoyed the message behind the organization. Since joining, she has formed great friendships with many of the members and loves spending time with everyone.

“I thought it sounded cool and I really liked the message of inclusion and equality. They are the exact same as us. As soon as you meet some of the buddies you are immediately like this is where I want to be because they are just so bubbly and nice. They make you happy being with them,” Rowland said.

The club is planning to have a callout meeting sometime before the end of August.

“Do it is my best advice. If you are not sure if you are interested feel free to stop by, spend some time with the people in the club, ask some questions. If you are a freshman and are feeling a little out of place it's a good place to go because everyone there is going to be genuinely nice people. It's a good environment to be in,” Rowland said.

Tri-Hi-Y

Tri-Hi-Y is an all girls volunteer group for juniors and seniors interested in community service. The club focuses on volunteer activities for the school and the community. Every year they put on events such as Can Jam, Catchella, and Mr. LN for people around the township to attend and donate all the money raised to different charity organizations. The club is open to any junior or senior girl and members must complete 20 service hours each semester. Senior Nyla Gilbert believes the club creates a comfortable environment for girls where they can feel safe in talking about issues and form friendships.

“I joined Tri-Hi-Y because it was an all girl club so it would focus more on the issues of being girls,” Gilbert said.

Moot Court

This year the LN Moot Court will be returning to the school. This year, new teacher Anthony Rufatto decided to bring back the club in his AP government class. Rufatto has set aside time in class for the students to research and build their cases.

“Moot Court is a competition where you’ll argue a side of a case in front of a judge and you’ve got an opponent who will take the other side and it's a debate with a judge. You are scored on how well you present your argument, how well you address the questions the judge has and how persuasive you are,” Rufatto said.

Rufatto believes this club will give his students valuable skills that can help them in whatever they decide to pursue after high school. The students will research a certain argument and take one side which they will then argue against students from other schools in competitions.

“It forces students to research. It forces students to understand what issues are presented to them. It forces them to find evidence to back up their case and it gives them a lot of confidence in public speaking,” Rufatto said.

The class has a unit they will do to prepare for their first competition in November that Rufatto is organizing. He hopes the students will prepare majority of their arguments in class but will set up time outside of class for students to prepare if needed.

“We have a competition scheduled with a Kentucky high school who's going to come here sometime in mid November, so we will be preparing for that. We are trying to prepare something for the spring on a more national level,” Rufatto said.

Magic the Gathering

The Magic club meets every Thursday to play Magic the Gathering. Magic the Gathering is a card game that immerses players in a fictional world where they can travel through realms and battle opponents by summoning creatures. The club welcomes all students to come and they offer to teach students to play if they do not have previous experience. The club will start on the first Thursday of September, Sept. 7 and welcome anyone to come and play.

ACE

Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Mentoring(ACE) is a club in which students get the opportunity to design a theoretical building project with real engineers, architects, and workers in the construction industry. Students get the opportunity to visit a construction site and offices of multiple professions that help with the process of designing and constructing a building. The students then get to work on a project that they design as a group and present it at the end of the year along with nine other schools in the Indianapolis area.

“The best thing is that we get to work with professionals. If you join, then expect to learn because it's hands on stuff and it's lots of fun,” Senior Ayman Barkat said.

Barkat is entering her fourth year in the program and looks forward to working alongside her mentors for her last year. The club meets at McKenzie every other Wednesday and is planning to have a callout in the upcoming weeks.

National Art Honor Society

The National Art Honor Society(NAHS) is a program in which art students get to do volunteer work that incorporates their artistic talents. The club typically meets every Wednesday after school to work on their volunteer projects.

“We do a lot of art based volunteer projects. One of our major ones is the portrait project where we get pictures of orphans from other countries and then we draw the pictures that we get and we send the handmade portraits back over. Then we get videos of the orphans receiving it and it just gives them something personalized of them that they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Senior Kelsey Pardieck said.

Pardieck joined the club because it combined her interests in volunteering with her interests in art. The club requires members to have take at least one art credit in the visual arts department and attend majority of their meetings.

“I joined because I enjoy volunteering and I also really enjoy art so this kind of mixed the two. I also got to know people who had the same interests as me,” Pardieck said.

“The projects are really rewarding, especially the portrait project but we also have a winters artist market which is one of our major fundraising things. It's really fun to be able to create things that people get to use and buy,” Pardieck said.

The club plans to have their first callout meeting this Wednesday, Aug.16, and a second callout the next Wednesday, Aug. 23. Pardieck encourages students to join because she believes it's a fun way to volunteer and there are not a lot of requirements.

“You have to have taken at least one art credit in the visual arts department. You have to attend meetings but it's pretty easy. Also, a lot of the volunteer hours transfer over to other clubs so it's a really good way to get a lot of hours,” Pardieck said.

Academic Team

The academic team is a group of students that compete in a trivia type game against other schools. The team meets every Wednesday after school until five o’clock in Mrs. Knapp’s room.

“Academic team is basically competing against other schools like jeopardy style where they buzz in based on different questions that are in different rounds,” club advisor Kelly Ploch said.

Ploch believes the academic team is a good way for students to meet new people while also learning a lot.

“I think it's important just like any other club in the school because you get to meet different types of people but this is a way that people get to showcase their smarts against other schools,” Ploch said.

The team plans to have a callout meeting in mid September where students can come learn more about what they do. Every year, the team competes in a league with several schools around the area and goes to multiple competitions.

“We are in a White River Academic League and we also compete in the academic super bowl that's held at Beech Grove in the spring,” Ploch said.

National Honor Society

National Honor Society is a program that promotes high academic standards and community service. The club focuses on volunteering within the school and the township as well as helping the school through tutoring. Members must apply to be inducted into the organization and are limited to juniors and seniors. Each member is required to have a certain number of service hours each semester consisting of NHS events, tutoring and other community service.

Health Occupations Students of America

HOSA(Health Occupations Students of America) is a national student organization that promotes career opportunities in the health fields and allows students to further expand their knowledge outside of their biomedical science classes. The club meets at McKenzie and is made up of students from LN and LC. Last year, the club participated in the Indiana State Leadership Conference and had nine of their 30 members advance to the international competition in June.

Principal's Advisory Council

PAC(Principal's Advisory Council) is a student government club that helps organizes events around the school and volunteers in the community. The club is run by the student officers of the sophomore, junior and senior classes. They help organize events such as freshman orientation and homecoming. Each student must apply at the end of the school year to get into the club. Students who want to run for class officers must apply to do so in the spring and will then be voted upon by each grade. The club meets on Thursday mornings and aims to create an inclusive student body planning activities where students can get involved.

Dream Team

The Dream Team is a club that does volunteer work and fundraisers to help the students of LN. All of the proceeds that the club raises through their fundraisers go into a scholarship fund that one of the senior members at the end of the year receives. Senior Jennifer Salazar joined the club her sophomore year and enjoys being more involved in the school.

“I decided to join it because friends said that it would be fun. We did end of the year celebrations and I thought it would be cool to get involved and not just not do anything in school,” Salazar said.

Although the club does not have any requirements to join, they promote volunteering and keeping good grades. As the club’s president last year, Salazar worked to make sure the members keep up with their school work and were helping their community.

“I was president last year and I tried to encourage people to get involved, to go out and volunteer. We had a 15 hour community service requirement and we wanted people to have good grades,” Salazar said.

The club meets every Tuesday after school in Mrs. Rosario’s room. They will have their first meeting this Tuesday, Aug. 15 and allow anyone to join. Salazar thinks the Dream Team is a great way to get involved and make a lot of new friends.

“We meet every Tuesday. It's something that we try to always see each other and go out with them. It's helpful to be involved. You can join it freshman year and you get to meet a lot of new people,” Salazar said.

Character Crew

Character Crew is a club that aims to help students struggling with balancing the stresses of school. The club helps students by talking to them and helping them sort out their stress and other issues. According to Junior Neha Hemachandra, members give out their contact information to stressed students so they have a person and a place they can go to in order to help them.

“We are a club that is there to support other students. We give out our contact info for stressed students to help the student. It's really about helping other students,” Hemachandra said.

The club plans to have their callout meeting after Labor Day.

Key Club

Key Club is a national volunteering organization with multiple chapters around the nation. At LN, Key Club volunteers around the school and the community. Junior Maya Broaddus enjoys the opportunities around the community that she gets to participate in as a part of the club.

“I decided to join the club because I wanted to get more involved with my community, be with my friends and do fun stuff. In Key Club, we volunteer around the community and the school and basically just get involved in helping others,” Broaddus said.

The club plans to have a callout meeting by the end of August. Broaddus believes students should join because it's a fun way to help the community with friends.

“I think the club is important because it gets others involved in helping out the community and be good citizens. It prepares kids for the outside world,” Broaddus said.

To the Girl

To the Girl is an all girls club that promotes positivity among the teen girls and talks about issues girls face. The club makes up posters full of quotes that all relate to a specific topic and post them in the girls restrooms for those who may be struggling with some issues.

“To the Girl is a group that meets every other week before school and we discuss issues that girls face. Then we choose an issue to focus on and we discuss what we feel that those girls need to hear. We write a letter of advice and we post that in the girls restrooms around the building to support girls,” advisor Sarah Bigler said.

The club plans to have a callout meeting soon as well as have a table set up in September with the other clubs in the cafeteria. Bigler believes the club provides positive messages for the girls at LN and hopes they can help the students struggling with any issues the face.

“It's important for everyone to understand that everyone is bringing their own things to the table. Everyone unfortunately deals with similar issues and sometimes we feel really alone, like we are the only ones facing these things, but I think To the Girl is a place where we come together. We discuss things and we realize that we aren’t the only ones. When we post our notes it helps the other girls who read it to realize that they aren’t alone either and hopefully it, just for a moment, gives them a breath, makes breathing a little easier or just helps them,” Bigler said.

Anime Club

Sophomore Lillian Shaw loves to watch anime. Last year, Shaw joined the anime club where she got to meet a lot of new people who shared her same interests. In the club, students meet after school and watch anime. Shaw believes the club is a fun way to meet new people that share some of the same interests.

“I joined the club because I love anime and it's fun to watch with my friends. Join the club because it's fun and you meet new people and watch anime,” Shaw said.

Model UN

Model UN is a club in which students participate in a mock government and simulate United Nations conferences. The club takes place in conferences throughout the year where students from multiple schools all participate in these simulated governments. The current members are planning to meet on Friday, Sept. 18 and will host a callout meeting at a later time.

Chess Club

The chess club meets every Tuesday in Mr. Deardorff’s room for students to play chess against each other. This gives students the chance to improve their chess skills and play a game they enjoy. The club also competes in occasional competitions and requires no fees to join.