How many clubs are at the Washington International School (WIS)? 10? Maybe 12? Well, I thought so too before starting this article. There are around 37! Around 280 kids are involved in 37 clubs. Ever since the club fair, the WIS community has engaged in many clubs, tending to take place during lunch on all days of the week. The clubs range from physics to practicing cardistry and everything you can imagine in between. In fact, there are so many clubs at WIS that Dateline decided that there should be an article -- a directory -- about the different clubs at WIS. Without further ado, I present some of the many clubs in the Washington International School.
Did you know that honey bees can communicate to each other by dancing? Well, don’t worry because now there is a club where you could learn about bees, as well as devote yourself to help bees in the WIS community. The bee club meets every two weeks on Wednesday at 12:00 or 11:45 (depending on whether there is an assembly or long advisory). However, there can be meetings on Tuesday in preparation for different events coordinated by the club. The club is held in the Mansion in room 205, with leaders Torin O’Brien and Chloe Gutnikoff. There is no faculty sponsor but by helping bees, you could have a great impact on our society!
Mock trial takes place every thursday at 11:50 in room A09. The club leader is Sneha Parthasarathy with Mr. Neal as the sponsor. Mock trial is a great way to experience public speaking, by arguing a case as either the prosecutor and defender or playing other roles such as becoming a witness. Furthermore, you can compete against other high schools. Currently, mock trial is handling cases about reckless endangerment and drunk driving. Although the club takes up time, the experience improves skills that help in our daily lives.
“Debate Club has the most snacks of any club south of the North Pole” said Nicholas Greamo, one of the leaders of the debate club. While there is no debate about the eats, the club generates enthusiasm for many other reasons. Run by Nicholas Greamo, Mounis Cader, Lincoln Manzi, and their sponsor Mr. Boehm, the debate club is a great place to practice your oratorical skills. The debate club has flexible timing, but is generally held every Friday at lunch, in room 204 of the mansion.
Ever interested in making merch for the WIS community? In Merch Madness, the club would be interested on your input and will listen to your ideas. Every idea is important; from different kinds of merchandise to what type of design could be used for each club.The club was created this year with founders Natasha Bousquet and Alice He, seniors of the WIS community. Sponsored by Ms. Chao, they meet every Thursday at lunch in the design lab. However, they might change their time in the future. Currently, they are working on designing merchandise for the school play!
The Art Club takes place in the art room, with group leaders Pablo Peltier and Proskovia (Pasha) Wilson and Mr. David as the sponsor. This club is during the second half of lunch on thursday. Recently, the club has been designing an art installation which may come up soon. In addition, they are writing a proposal, a rough blueprint with their artist statement, to ISU. The art club is great place for people who are interested in art; from focusing on still lifes or complete free drawing. Moreover, the art club does not only focus on artists in the WIS community --they plan to help develop the arts in deprived areas.
Investment club meets every month or so, meaning that the club is completely flexible and does not need big commitments. The club meets in A10, with Mr. Piligian as the sponsor. The club is a nice place for people to relax during lunch -- or so they say -- while getting psyched up trading on stock simulators. People are welcome to come whenever they want too, and snacks are provided. Right now the investment club is selling halloween candy grams, each of them costing a dollar. Club members are always trying to make a buck.
The cooking club is another club in the WIS community that doesn’t have a strict time commitment. The club is planning to organize set donations, restaurant models, and settle on regular times for participation. The leaders of the club are Stephen Buckley, Patrick Hallaert, Alex grossman, and Nicholas Peabody and they would welcome anyone to join. Food for thought. Stay tuned!
The World Scholars Club (WSC) is a celebration of learning. WSC is held in the Art Room 1 on Thursdays during 3:05 till 4:10, and run by Karlo Vidovic. This club needs commitment, considering that the competitions are based on qualification. People can only join the club in the beginning of the year, and they can not drop the club without a reason. WSC is a great opportunity to extend your learning about topics that are not usually discussed in school. There is also the opportunity of meeting people from around the world, with countless community and academic events that take place. As the leader of WSC said “The beauty of the WSC is its ability combine academics with making friends, enjoying yourself, and exploring things you could otherwise never explore at school.”
The chemistry club’s first meeting will occur on October 29th in the carriage house. Located in room 304, you can have the opportunity to have fun with chemistry with different experiments. The leaders of the chemistry club are Tomas Kraay and Jakobi Haskell, with Ms. Hoeger as the sponsor. For now the set time would be on Monday at the beginning of lunch, but considering all the different clubs, the times might change. They say that the members have great chemistry. Come on down, have a blast!
Not only does WIS have a chemistry club, but we also have a physics club! The club is on Tuesdays at lunch, always in room 303 of the carriage house. The club takes up the entire lunch period and therefore people should get their lunches first and then they can eat during the meeting. Tomas Kraay and Ellie Fithian are the leaders, and Mr. March is the sponsor. The physics club plans to create actual go karts, which would be used in the WIS facility. Do not worry if you are not good at physics because there is a role for everyone in the club.
The Oxfam club is sponsored by Oxfam America, an organization focuses on feeding the poor, and responding to disasters around the world. Julia Brownell, Julia Stefanska, Phoebe Conway, and Ainhoa Petri-Hidalgo are the leaders of the Oxfam club, which meets every other week in A02. Oxfam tends to be consistent with club meetings, unless something important comes up, where they can change the times. The club also grants you CAS/service hours, with fun charity events. There can many different types of fundraisers, ranging from movie nights, holiday grams, or even thrift clothing swaps.The club is always looking for new members and new ideas.
Our brainy school has educational clubs not only about science, but also in the mathematics. The math club, taking place on F and B days, discusses topics beyond what we learn on a day to day basis in math classes. The club meets at 11:45, in A05, with sponsor Mr. O and club leader Daniel Freymann. Math club also understands that there can be club conflicts, and will schedule to be in another room in the triple A building at times. People who like math should join this club -- being there it all adds up. Some topics that the club has discussed includes zeta functions, and practice problems for the AMC test.
Cardistry club meets in room A07 at 12:05, in most E and H days. The scheduling isn’t set in stone, as it depends on changes in the school schedules and workflow. The club leader, Emre Tokpinar, and Sebastien, will always send out an email the day before if the cardistry club will take place. The club is welcome to all students, adding a little more creativity in their day to day lives. The beginning is always difficult, but once a person moves out of that stage, they can explore and create many more different tricks and moves. Although the club may be challenging, the difficulty is engaging and fun.
WIS TV meets in B2 on wednesdays, at 12. However, there can be different meetings that take place outside of the usual time to film, or edit a piece. Despite the varying schedule, WIS TV does not require an intense time commitment. Sacha Davies and Lara Traphagen lead WIS TV, along with Mx. Redding and Ms. Wilding as their sponsors. The club does have flexibility, as the teams for each segment can work together on what time works. WIS TV is a new club at WIS, making it an opportunity to start something at its foundation. There are different roles, not only on screen, and gives you an opportunity to be creative.
Marisa Morrison and Andi Cubeddu are the leaders of Reading Partners. The club meets on every other Wednesday, in the physics room in the carriage house. There is a great deal of flexibility, as some days do not require everyone to come. The sponsor of Reading Partners is Mr. Godwin, since his own daughter used to volunteer for Reading Partners, Reading Partners is a great opportunity to see a student grow with your tutoring. Furthermore, there are lesson plans, thus making the tutoring much easier. If you do not want to tutor, you can help with the fundraising.
It’s Academic is nice place for people to relax at lunch, while watching quiz shows and eating snacks. The club meets in Mr. March’s room in the carriage house, usually every other week. The actual competition has passed, but by being the club, you can prepare for the next one. Everyone is welcome to It’s Academic, and there are no big time commitments. It’s very academic to join.
Model UN isn’t exactly like the usual clubs, meeting every week or so. MUN is more of a club that you can commit to having a few intense meetings which take place in preparation for conferences. The only commitment needed is taking some days off from school when going to these conferences. The conferences are at other schools, where you are placed and do a Mock UN committee. However, you can also get the chance to go to New York, where the actual UN building is.
Pride Alliance meets either on Tuesday or Thursdays, at around 11:45-11:50 in the Theater Classroom. There is no requirement for members to be at every meeting, as there can be conflicting schedules. In fact, there is a google doc that displays the meeting notes, therefore people can stay informed with what was discussed when they were not in the club meeting. Pride is led by Viola Gatti-Roaf,Marcos Yoc Bautista, Sofía Sanchez, and Ms. Rambow is the club sponsor. Pride hopes to make WIS more embracing on LGBTQ+ issues, as discussions tend to be about current events or general topics in which everyone discusses their opinions. The group is supportive of each other, making sure everyone is comfortable.
Protect Children’s Future is led by Fabrice Gray, with Mr. March as the sponsor. The club meets every Friday at 12:00, or 11:15 on A and D days in room 303 of the carriage house. The club is flexible, as Fabrice planned the meeting to ensure a large number of students could come without any conflicts. Currently Protect Children’s Future is focusing on fundraising for arts, sports, and educational camps for around 300 disadvantaged kids in Haiti. You would have the ability to travel to Haiti, as WIS kids can also become counselors at the camp.
Unlike other clubs, Happiness Club does not have a fixed time and date of their meetings, but communicate online. The leaders of the club are Radha Maria Jagwani, Inès Blancher, Marcos-Yoc Bautista, Max Roman, and Hailey Lofton. However, Ines, Marcos and Radha are the most active within the club. This club also includes Ms.Hutchinson, the guidance counselor, as the club advisor. She is there to help with the more serious features of the club, which mainly focuses on spreading happiness and appreciating people in the community.
SDLC is led by Inaya, Maia, Kanitta, and Yared. The club takes place in room B2 of the Mansion on Mondays at lunch. However, there can be special meetings, such as new workshops or specific urgent aspects that there needs to be a meet about. With sponsor Mx. Redding and Ms. Eaton, SDLC travels to different local, regional, or even national diversity conferences. Overall, the club is an open space to learn, to debate, or to discuss social, political, or cultural issues connected to people of different backgrounds.
The Black Student Union (BSU) meets in B2 of the Mansion every Thursday at 11:45. Leaders Yared Zegeye and Ayanna Rhodes understand that some clubs overlap, hence there is a flexibility of walking in or out of the club. The sponsor of the club is Ms. Redding. The club is a safe space that allows everyone to discuss about their experiences.
Lilly Akhtarzandi-Das and her sister, Alexandra, are the club leaders of Kids in the Middle. However, the club has not begun and they are still figuring out meeting dates, as this club will be both high and middle school. Stay tuned! These are some of the many clubs that are at WIS. We have other clubs, about which we’ll add information to make this directory complete.
These are some of the many clubs that are at WIS. We have other clubs, about which we’ll add information to make this directory complete. Global Health Club, WIS Hack Club, LSU (Latino Student Union), Girls Who Code, Sanathan Dharam Club, Red Cross Club, Soles in Need, Faust Club, UNICEF, Dominican Childhood Arthritis Club, Badminton Club, Student Standing and Dateline
The Washington International School has such a diverse amount of clubs. These clubs cover many different fields, and are great opportunities to express yourself. There is a place for everyone -- join the club!