EDITORS NOTE: This article is the second of a two-part series examining clubs at Triton. This week we are examining medium to smaller clubs. Previously we looked at the larger clubs.
From Robotics Club to Literary Magazine Club, there are several clubs at Triton that don’t have as many members but do have a lot of fun and creativity. Here are some of them.
Coffee Club
In room H206, students come before school once per month to participate in the coffee club, a place where students and staff meet to try new drinks. Members discuss their opinions of different coffees and then write and leave reviews based on what they discussed.
Despite being new, the coffee club has picked up a large following. The club’s members have a lot of upperclassmen, but they are looking for more underclassmen to join. Those interested can speak with Ms. Erin. Dempsey, the advisor of the club, in room H206.
Esports/Casual Games Club
When you walk into the Esports club, the sounds of keyboards clicking and students chatting fills the air. At the tables, people play card games with colorful counters. Colors flash the screens as players compete. Most recently the team has been building better game sense and mechanical skills.
More students have been showing up and engaging with the program. Coach Dan Langlois is looking forward to connecting with more students and playing more games. “I think that one of the most important things about gaming is that it’s a great way to connect with people who you may not have connected with otherwise,” said Langlois. “Some of my best friends I made while traveling the country and competing in card games, so I really think it’s important to meet people who wouldn’t have met, talk to people who you wouldn’t have talked to, and just meet a lot of people by playing games”
The fall season is wrapping up for Esports, but the casual gaming component of the club will continue through the winter and Esports will kick back off again in the spring. They meet in room A213.
Robotics Club
In the beginning of the year students in robotics can express their thoughts of creativity in the main field of mechanical engineering. Then they start towards the competition stage, when everyone gets together and plans on making a robot for the competition.
At the end of the year when the group is not in the competition, everyone starts building their own robots. Sometimes they do in-house competitions or members can just build whatever they want with the materials supplied.
“It’s unlike any other club where instead of anything that you do in school like writing or stuff like that it’s super different where we get to work with metals and motors and electronics and stuff like that,” said robotics captain Luke Aham. “You can build robots, you can build cars, you can build crossbows, or anything that will launch anything in the realm of creativity and mechanical engineering. It’s all there, and it’s all really fun “
If you like to build with materials like Legos, or if you like rebuilding or taking apart stuff, this is the club for you. They meet on Thursdays from 2:15-3:30 in room A213.
Scribe
At Scribe, Triton’s literary magazine club, it is all about writing and editing creatively.
“We give time every meeting at the very beginning to write, some from a prompt, sometimes from ideas that students make themselves,” said Advisor Mr. James Allen. “Then we go over regular business, like when we organize writing contests, and then we finish typically with reviewing and offering feedback to submissions to our magazine.
Scribe is laid back, fun, and improves students’ writing. It also gives students a chance to act as editors and take on a leadership role. Scribe is a place where you get to create, build your leadership skills and publish your work in something that endures. They meet Wednesday afternoon from 2:15 to 3:00 in room H203.
Chess Club
Chess club is where students can just hang out, play chess, solve puzzles, and learn to play. Students play chess against each other, with rankings and small tournaments where they face off.
Chess club is run by Mr. Matt Guerin and shares a room with Esports and Robotics in room A213. Students should join because it can help students develop a lot of useful life skills, such as thinking ahead as well as logical thought and decision making.
“It’s a fun club that expands the way you think,” said member Hugo Huang. They meet on Mondays.
Environmental Club
Currently in environmental club, students are working on hydroponics, where they get to grow crops and bring plants home, such as chili peppers. The environmental club also tends the gardens at the school and helps make the school look better.
They also do fundraisers with stickers to help in things such as the national parks service, and they are currently working on setting up a composting system for the school. Club president River Wynne says students should join because there are a lot of great opportunities to make the campus better, and they get to take some food home and make the school a prettier and better place.
They meet every Thursday 2:15-3:00ish. They highly encourage students to come even if they can’t stay for the whole meeting.
Starting your own club
If a student or group of students wishes to start a club but have missed the chance to participate in the annual club fair at the start of the school year there are more ways to advertise these clubs.
“We have different ways of reaching out to the student body that could be announced,” said Celia. “I know that when kids want to start a club sometimes I will make an announcement in the morning. You can potentially talk to the Triton Voice and put something in print through that publication you could talk to the VTV teams and see if you get a commercial or blurb going in one of the VTV episodes. So we have different ways of getting the message out there when a group is interested in trying to get a club off the ground.”
