Club Day 2019 Encourages All CRLS Students to Get Involved
October 11, 2019
Each September, as the new school year begins, CRLS students start to think of ways to get involved in the CRLS community. To help students with this process, the school holds Club Day to inform students about the range of clubs CRLS offers. Every year, age-old clubs and those that are just starting out share their purposes and expand their membership by presenting posters and talking to students.
With the 63 clubs that CRLS has to offer, it is nearly impossible for students not to find at least one club that interests them. Clubs range from sports activities to art to science to everything in between. Thea Loh, a freshman at CRLS, signed up for the Astronomy Club on Club Day. “I think clubs are fun and you get to meet people,” she said. Club Day can be especially useful for each year’s incoming class of freshmen to get a feel for the school community, begin a productive year, and build relationships and connections that will last them the entirety of high school.
During Club Day, students are able to explore the various clubs all at once, allowing them to decide for themselves which are most interesting. Franny Oppenheimer ’20, the co-captain of Underwater Robotics Club and a member of A cappella, said that “Club Day is important because all people should be involved in after-school activities [and] be involved in [the] community.” Nuriel Vera-Degraff ’22 also pointed out that “signing up for a club is one of the best ways to get involved because you can really do something you enjoy to help other people, and you also gain lifelong skills.”
Not only does engaging in clubs and activities benefit students, but it also makes a difference in the Cambridge and CRLS communities. For example, Gabriel Traietti ’21, the leader of the Bike Advocacy Club at Rindge, explained how “many kids at the school bike every day, and [that] we need to do more to make it a safer and better experience. We want to look into bike repair workshops.” In addition, Cian O’Toole ’22 explained how Speech and Debate Club can improve students’ justification skills: “It teaches people how to express their own opinions, their own voices, and stand up for what they believe in. We teach people certain tricks and traits to form a really strong argument that convinces [others] of certain things.”
Club Day can be a crucial event in shaping and building a student’s involvement in the community during their years in high school. As Theodore Richards ’22, a member of Latin Club, added, “[Clubs are also] a lot of fun to participate in and a great time to relieve stress and just hang out with your friends.”
