New Clubs at Pitman

As students we not only have the opportunity to join clubs and participate in extracurricular activities, but we also have the opportunity to create our own club. We have been given the chance to take our hobbies, sports, ethnic groups, faiths, organizations, and special interests and turn them into something that can be enjoyed by all classmates.

In order to start a club at Pitman High School a student must first consult with Mrs. Smith (residing in room B119), the teacher responsible for clubs. Then they may undergo the process.

The student wishing to create a new club must find an advisor to overlook their club activities. Then they need to fill out a petition for approval and a club constitution that will be submitted to ASB for approval. The club will be either approved our denied. Under the circumstance that your club is denied approval, the club may then send a representative to speak on the clubs behalf to resubmit for approval at the next ASB meeting.

After approval, the club as well as the rest of the clubs on campus must then submit their club minutes and agendas to Mrs. Smith after each meeting to be filed in the club binder for auditing purposes.

There is currently one club in the process of being approved: Feminist Club. Feminist Club was proposed by junior, Selena Spiegel and if passed, will be advised by Mrs. Cooke. This club has already obtained several advocates who are pushing for its approval including sophomores Brianna Jara and Hannah Cross. Jara and Cross expressed how the purpose of the club would be to provide a safe space for those who wish to voice their opinions without feeling attacked.

The club would allow members to meet up and start discussions on topics of interest, economic and social equality, awareness of certain issues, and provide a foundation to educate others on feminism. Jara and Cross also expressed that anybody –male and female- could be a feminist, and that they hope this club will rid others of misconceptions associated with feminism.

Within the last couple of years, PitmanHigh School has acquired an abundant amount of new clubs.

• Blankets of Love: Blankets of Love is a club inspired from a service project that encourages children to raise money to collect, which they will then use to make blankets for hospitals serving children or those that are seriously or terminally ill. This is the first year Blankets of Love has been introduced to Pitman and the club wishes to gain a large increase in involvement to hopefully reach the position of being able to provide 500+ blankets .
• Car Club: Club advisor described Car Club as being “a club that focuses teaching and sharing knowledge on basic car maintenance, simple modifications and restoration techniques as well as celebrating the love of CARS!” In this club, the members are actually able to work on real cars and plan to visit various car shows in the area next year.
• Chess Club: Chess Club was founded this school year, and meets every Thursday during lunch in Mr. Shaw’s classroom, where they are currently preparing to organize a tournament.
• Fishing Club: Fishing Club is a club where the members are taught the latest fishing techniques, where the best fishing is at, and how to respect and enjoy the outdoors through fishing. The club meetings are usually held on Thursdays during lunch and the club is currently fundraising for its first fishing trip.
• House Argent Lion Club: House Argent Lion Club is a medieval fighting club that practices the martial arts and use of various weapons such as long swords, great swords, daggers, and spears during the medieval times all while wearing up to 60 pounds of armor. Besides their practices at Pitman, the club also discusses chivalric virtues and what it means to be knightly.
• Physical Science Club: Physical Science Club is a club that is targeted to promote students interest in physical sciences such as chemistry, physics, and geology. The club primarily consists of AP Physics students, and had participated in fundraising earlier on in the year in hope of being able to visit Great America and the Exploratorium in the nearby future.
• Snowboarding Club: Snowboarding Club was founded this year, but is not very active due to the lack of snow. Meanwhile the members have been discussing gear, techniques, and parks while hoping to plan day trips to the mountains.
• Ultimate Disc Club: Club advisor Mr. Hofsteen describes Ultimate Disc Club as being created “to provide the opportunity for male and females to play in a fun, high intensity, fast growing international, lifelong sport,” that is open to all skill sets and levels of experience. The meetings focus on learning the game, advancing skill set, participating in games, planning for school events, fundraising, and coordinating with other high schools to put together Ultimate Discus tournaments.

Additional new clubs at Pitman include Humanist/ Coexist Club, Ping Pong Club, Spikeball Club, Yoga Club, and Every Monday Matters.

Clubs at PitmanHigh School, except for a select few that require you to be in a certain class or submit an application such as ASB, are always open to accepting new members at any time during the year. Meetings are constantly being announced during daily announcements and are also often times posted on the JohnH. Pitman High School web page under ASB News.

On Thursday March 5^th, 2015 Pitman will be providing a second Club Rush during lunch. This way new clubs may present themselves and recruit members, while other clubs will use that opportunity as a way to advertise and present to the students upcoming events