A Club Just For You

A+small+sampling+of+the+club+options+offered+at+GHS

A small sampling of the club options offered at GHS

Brendan Hirsch, Contributing Author

Goffstown High School is a place riddled with opportunity, but these doors will only reveal themselves to those who go looking.  As someone who has made it through high school, my one piece of advice is to get involved.  I know that is a cliche and you’ve heard it so many times before, but you’ve only heard it repeated so many times because of how accurate that advice is.

There is a club or team for just about every activity you could want to partake in, and if by some chance there isn’t one of interest to you, starting a club is quite a simple endeavor. In terms of the ones that are currently available, there are so many incredible options it can be a little daunting to find a place, especially if you’re not sure of what you want out of your high school experience just yet.

With that, allow me to be your map and guide as we walk through some of your many options.  To start with, there are probably two main categories to classify these extracurriculars, clubs and athletics.  Goffstown High School is host to roughly 20 clubs and over 23 sports ranging throughout the seasons.  We will mainly be delving into club options, but by no means should you exclude athletics.  Many individuals walk into GHS with an idea of what sport they’d like to participate in, and with credit requirements to graduate, PE credits from sports are very common and can result in a lot of fun.  Even if you’re not someone who plays many sports, it’s definitely recommended to just try something; it will satisfy a graduation requirement, help you get into better shape, and it’s very likely the experience will give you a new and healthy hobby.

Moving back into club extracurriculars, once again there are so many different paths to travel.  Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to just one or two either.  This is the perfect instance to bite off a bit more than you can chew.  No membership is permanent, so if you find one club no longer suits your schedule or interests there is always a choice to leave, though it’s unlikely you’d want to.  To get into specifics, choosing which clubs to fill your schedule with can be overwhelming.  You obviously want to be efficient, and take advantage of all possible opportunities, so picking clubs that align with your interests is definitely the way to go, though you should always consider branching out.

If you consider yourself a thespian, feel free to step onto the stage with the GHS Theater Club.  This is a talented group of actors, actresses, musicians, singers, dancers, and so many other people of wonderful talent.  If the stage isn’t for you, but you’d still like to be a part of the shows, as a long time techie or theater tech, myself, I can say we’d love to have you.

Alongside the Theater Club, there are many different performance based clubs like Band, Chorus, Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Select Vocal Ensemble that can also be a lot of fun if you have an aptitude for music.  There is also Tri M or the National Music Honors Society here at GHS you can join, which gives credit to a handful of exceptional musicians.

Music isn’t the only side of art GHS offers.  There is a dedicated Art Club as well. If you think of yourself as an artist in more of that capacity, definitely stop in. They complete a wide range of projects and activities.

If your focus lands closer to environmental activism, the environmental club would suit you well.  Their goal is to create a green, sustainable, environmentally conscious future.  It is the belief of their club president, Joshua Luedke, that “Clubs are an excellent way to get involved in the community and have one’s voice heard,” and thus the club has been  involved in a handful of community service projects.

Speak of Mr. Luedke, he is also president of another civically driven club known as the National Social Studies Honors Society, or Goffstown High School’s local chapter of Rho Kappa.  This club aims to promote civic engagement and honor those who excelled in the field of social studies. It is once again an incredible opportunity and one you should definitely look into.

While we’re on the topic of honors societies, the National Honors Society, or NHS, is another great club.  The main focus of NHS is to honor those who have achieved academic excellence and give them a place to gather and find ways to give back to their school and local communities.

If you see yourself as a political, or just someone who enjoys debate, consider the Speech and Debate Club.  It’s a mix of debate club as well as model congress.  A wide range of issues are brought forward and discussed by the group, and it is definitely a great choice.

Another club you should definitely consider is the Paw Print, or the school’s Newspaper Club.  The student editor of the club, Keith Sanders, believes that most of the members “have joined because they wanted to spread awareness and do something for their communities that they are both a part of and inspired by.”  So those of you who have an aptitude for writing, or want your voices heard should come and check out this group.

Now I must apologize, it would be quite difficult to touch on every club this school has to offer in the detail they deserve, so I’ll leave the rest up to you to discover for yourself.  There are many clubs I failed to touch upon like Peer Outreach, which does amazing things for the students in this community, or the Book Club, where you can sit down and chat about some of your favorite literature.  Point is, there are so many options as well as the possibility to create more if there aren’t any current clubs that suit you.

I wish you luck in your high school career, and to see the complete list of clubs offered, check out the Goffstown Highschool homepage under the Clubs and Activities tab or click here.