Ways to get involved

Rundown of SHS’s clubs

Students+meet+up+in+room+136+on+Aug.+20+to+start+the+first+meeting+for+Young+Life.+They+had+snacks+and+played+Mafia+to+pass+the+time.

Photo by December Tling

Students meet up in room 136 on Aug. 20 to start the first meeting for Young Life. They had snacks and played ‘Mafia’ to pass the time.

Key Club:

The Key Club at SHS is a club that strives to form leadership skills through helping others.

They participate in  a variety of  events, but a majority of them involve the YMCA. They help with concession stands, set up Easter Egg Hunts, Christmas Gifting and more. 

Junior Ni Sui Hnem, the president of the club, has many ideas for more fundraising events. Most of the money earned will be given to organizations in the community.

“…during all the holidays and such, we hope to contribute in ways that’ll help others in the communities,” Ni Sui Hnem said.

Members do need a certain amount of hours to stay in the club. Rides were a huge issue for students in past years, so they decided to have meetings during iPass to make it easier. After school activities would include volunteering, making homecoming banners, and posters.

 

Dance Team:

The dance team, coached by English Teacher Jessica Walpole, performs  at sports games, basketball games and pep rallies. Their goal is to entertain and get people excited.

“We are a spirit team […] to promote team spirit and get the crowd energized,” Walpole said.

Some events the dance team is going to participate in soon are Homecoming, pep sessions and hopefully hosting their own competition this year. 

They compete in dance categories such as hip hop, jazz and open. In previous years, they have won state twice and placed almost every time when performing for hip hop. They are yet to win in jazz, but they’ve placed second and third multiple times in that category.

They try to be better versions of themselves not just on their own, but as a  team. They value doing things they love, such as dancing, and put that above winning. 

Their practices are twice a week on either Tuesdays and Fridays, or Wednesdays and Fridays. Fridays are always right after school, but Tuesdays or Wednesdays are from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

 

FCCLA:

Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, is a student-led organization that promotes leadership skills, provides travel opportunities and participates in community service. FACS teacher Sara Neville is the FCCLA sponsor for SHS.

COVID-19 was hard on everyone, but especially for the clubs that focus on truly giving back to others. 

“With Covid the last couple of years, it’s been hard for us to get out into our community,” Neville said. “So, our goal this year is to get out into the community and Southport area.” 

They participate in many school events such as the Fall Rally in September, and State Leadership Conference in March. This year, FCCLA plans on putting on a “Socktober” during the month of October for their sock fundraiser. Meetings happen during iPass once or twice a month depending on the schedule.

 

Young Life:

Young Life is a faith-based Christian organization that exists all around the world, but math teacher Micheal Johnson sponsors the club at SHS. 

They encourage anyone to come, no matter their beliefs or opinions. The club is a safe space to ponder any existential questions someone may have.

“…It’s definitely something that everyone is welcome to,” Johnson said.

There is also a Young Life camp that is located in Michigan, at Timberwolf Lake, that they take part in. This camp lasts five nights in total. Not only do the students explore their faith, but they also get to participate in fun activities. That includes classic camp activities such as ziplining, football, soccer, wiffleball and basketball. There is also a game room where people can play pool and ping pong.

The club talks about faith and Jesus in a discussion-oriented way. The meetings are on Tuesdays after school in room 136 with Johnson until around 3 p.m. They have outside events at the YMCA, and have bible study-type meetings as well after school.