Over 100 Staples’ clubs have showcased at the annual Involvement Fair during all three lunch waves that kicked off on Sept. 26, 2016. The Involvement Fair is an opportunity for all students to “connect, find new friends, give back, and get involved,” Richard Franzis, Club Manager and Assistant Principal, wrote. “Getting involved can help you build your resume, expand your horizons, develop your leadership skills and have fun all while doing something that interests you.” Each year, there are many new and old clubs showing off their attributes to students.
Screen and PlayWrights Guild club
The Screen and PlayWright’s Guild club, headlined by Allie Bowlin ’18, has ambitions to write for television, film and theater by encouraging members to compose works which will be displayed in a year end festival. Bowlin saw this opportunity as a great outlet to “find and meet other creative writers in a fun environment where we can all share our ideas and objectively show off our hard work at a showcase at the end of the year.” The club will primarily focus on writing for television, film and theatre. “Staples needs a screenwriting and playwriting program that can really teach and evolve students that want to learn the craft of film and television,” Bowlin said. The club’s teacher representative is Noreen McGoldrick, and prospective members can find Screen and PlayWrights Guild for their first meeting on Oct. 5.
Spikeball Club
Spikeball, the two-on-two volleyball-like game that can be played anywhere, is now available weekly for students. Elliot Kaufman ’19, student representative of the Spikeball Club, calls himself a Spikeball ambassador. “I help spread the sport around the world,” Kaufman said. The club will meet after school in the fieldhouse. Kaufman believes the club will be very beneficial for the Staples community. “Physical activity, social life, and fun are the main things the Staples community will get out of the Spikeball Club,” Kaufman said. Possible members will be able to join the club at its first meeting on Wednesday, October 5, and the Spikeball club’s teacher advisor is Don Smith.
Filipino Club
Kai Dasbach ’19 and Kathleen Konkos ’19, founders of the Filipino Club, hope to spread their Filipino culture throughout the halls of Staples with the help of teacher advisor Ashley Gayanilo. The club aims to support impoverished children living in the Philippines. “It would be beneficial to the Staples community because it would teach others about a place, culture and community that they don’t know that much about,” Dasbach said. According to Dasbach, the club will focus on assisting people in need in the Philippines. “We’ll be trying to raise money and collect items that we can send and donate to people in the Philippines because they have a significant need.” The group can be found for their first meeting on Thursday after the Involvement Fair.
Pickup Sports
The Pickup Sports Club, advised by Nicole Comerford, will focus on “pickup sports” in a recreational setting. The club, headed by Sebastian Wick ’17, Cayne Mandell ’17 and Nick Benjamin ’17 will play a different sport weekly. Unlike other clubs, the Pickup Sports Club will meet on weekends and carry out their games then. Wick wanted to bring the club to Staples because he saw the “competitive aspect of Staples” and knew that “some people love playing sports but don’t have the commitment level of a high school athlete.” The group will hope to bring an alternative way to get active without the commitment of a varsity level sport.
Start a Company
Start a Company club, represented by Aniruddha Murali ’17, will teach students about entrepreneurship with the intentions of starting their own small company. Murali, with assistance from advisor, Maura Delaney, brought this club to Staples with the goal to have companies enter into the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition. “After gaining interest in entrepreneurship,” Murali applied and was accepted to the Harvard Summer Business Academy where he spent a week with entrepreneurs and professors. “I was really inspired, and I wanted to bring this inspiration to the Staples community,” Murali said. Murali hopes to encourage other students to start their own companies. He believes that “more people will be encouraged to come up with their own innovative ideas or solutions to problems today.” The first meeting for Start a Company club is on Oct. 3, 2016.
Catch A Lift club
Catch A Lift club represented by Camille Cross ’17 and Ellen Dalen ’17, works to raise funds for gym memberships, fitness programs or in-home gym equipment, and will be given to post Sept. 11, 2001 combat wounded Veterans in order to enhance their physical and mental health. Catch a Lift club is a nationwide organization founded in remembrance of Army Corporal Chris Coffland. Cross introduced it to Staples because, “the Staples community could do far more for our Veterans, and we believe this is an effective way of doing so.” The club’s first meeting will take place the first Wednesday of October.
