What are all the students fighting about? Club sandwiches? Club Med? Club soda? No! The club forms, of course! Programing with Scratch, Great Junior Books, Statistical Sports and Investment – all of these new clubs offered at the Benjamin Middle School have provided a plethora of choices for students, and everyone was eager to get his or her first choice. Club selection all started the second week of school when middle schoolers attended a large meeting in the BPAC about the clubs for which they could sign up. Each teacher explained his or her club with some teachers publicizing their clubs in different and novel ways. Choral and strings teacher Mr. Andrew Winters sang “Sing,” (a song written by Joe Raposo and made famous on Sesame Street and by the singing group The Carpenters) to promote his A Capella Club while Mr. Nathan Ginnetty, the new sixth and seventh-grade English teacher who also happens to be a professional musician, strummed his acoustic guitar to advertise his Songwriting Club.

Then the club sheets, which included descriptions of each club, were passed out. The students wrote down their top six choices, and then the administration placed the students in clubs according to grade level (eighth graders received top preference), space in the club, and any club prerequisites.

Clubs meet roughly every other Friday afternoon from 2:10 – 3:20. On a “Friday 2” schedule, all of the classes get shortened to make more time for the club period. All heads are cocked to the clock as the students wait for its thin hands to hit the special time for clubs. Some people are waiting to go to Our Town, another new club which allows students to study Thornton Wilder’s classic play and ultimately perform it. Others are dreaming about Sustainable Landscape Beautification where they will work with Mrs. Mandy Sukhu, the sixth-grade science teacher, to make our campus more “green” and manicured. Still others are excited to work with Mr. Bruce Duncan, husband of Library/Media Specialist Mrs. Susan Duncan, an engineer who specializes in solar design. His Energy Whiz Club will allow the students to work on their solar-powered machines so that they might compete in the Energy Whiz Olympics in May.

Other new clubs on the docket this year include Lego Robotics Club and Lego Architecture Club. “Our Lego artists will be creating a town and there will be an election to choose a mayor, city planner, and other officials, said Fine Arts Department Chair Ms. Nancy McAllister, one of three teachers heading up the Lego Architecture Club. “Legos help to develop fine motor skills [and] foster creativity while providing a sense of individual pride and teamwork among young and old,” explained McAllister.

Even clubs from last year which are no longer offered made a lasting impact upon students. “I did the Harry Potter Club [last year], I learned what house I was in, and I learned a lot about what other people thought about Harry Potter and the characters,” said seventh grader Lucy Campbell, a member of the club that was led by Ms. Mallory Gleason, former seventh-grade science teacher, and Mrs. Anne Franzen, eighth-grade history teacher. But this year, Campbell will be joining the Latin Club because she is interested in learning about Latin and enjoyed working with Franzen last year.

And while the new clubs are exciting, many of the returning clubs will be hard to beat! “I did Eating For Life Club [because] it’s important to make smart decisions [about food],” said eighth grader Abigail Bastian, referencing physical education teacher and avid runner Ms. Erica Lazarus’ club that will teach students how to eat healthily. This club will also takes field trips to healthy places to eat like Three Natives. Other returning clubs include Chess Club, Random Acts Of Kindness Club, and Foreign Language in Film!

Classic comedian Groucho Marx once said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member,” but TBS middle schoolers are just the opposite; they can’t wait to embrace the club life!