This session's clubs and after-school activities

As you may know, our first semester back at school is only a few weeks from its end, and we will all be freed for Christmas and New Year’s (for those who celebrate these holidays). With the conclusion of the first semester comes the conclusion of the clubs; some are going on to the second semester, while some may be changed or replaced by a different activity.

On the Tosabori campus, we have clubs that are carried out during lunch and after school ends. Our newspaper, The OYISTER, is one of the few that are coordinated after school; our staff at Tosabori communicate with our staff at Nakatsu through Google Meets. In the time that we have, we organize things like what to write next, when to publish it, and how to approach the tone or controversy that may arise with certain articles.

Along with The OYISTER, the OYIS Cyborg Lions have their afternoon meeting on Mondays at Tosabori, in which the members presumably talk like the nerd-coded characters in bad action films; this robotics club, organized by Ms. Patty Fawcett, is creating a robot that will compete with other schools around the region.

On the other hand, the “jocks” of middle school partake in their boys’ basketball practices and girls’ soccer practices over on the Nakatsu campus; the basketball goes on during both Monday afternoons and Friday afternoons, while the soccer practice is conducted on Monday afternoons and Thursday afternoons. The coaching staff for these activities includes Mr. Jamie Riddalls and Mr. Arinobu Kimura (MS basketball) and Mr. Tanner Nickel (MS soccer).

At Nakatsu, a club lead by Ms. Laura McGinty tests out their students' problem solving and critical thinking skills with an escape room.

Tuesday holds the most ASAs for students, though they are all held at Nakatsu, as high school students transfer from Tosabori to their old campus for PE with Mr. Nickel and Ms. Sim Evers (and music, if they chose it as their elective).

The Language and Culture Ambassadors, also led by Ms. Laura McGinty, is focused on the inclusion and support of other languages and cultures, and it consists of members from grades 7 through 10.

Advanced Band Club, held by Mr. Vladimir Jocic, is a club in which the students make music of their own, as well as cover songs written by other artists. You can read about some of their work in Ken N's "Celebration of the Arts" article here.

Mr. Dan Palanca and Mr. Mark Mason also hold basketball practice on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for high school students, at which the team members can focus on improving in skills and getting a better understanding of the game.

Additionally, there is a Japanese Anime & Manga club lead by Ms. Chiaki Hasegawa, where students can explore Japanese anime culture and create illustrations of their own. While the members of this club absorb a part of Japanese culture, members of the Spanish Language club can absorb the culture of an entirely different part of the world: Mr. Hammurabi Rubio teaches students the basics and simple essentials of the language through conversation activities and active learning.

If you're a regular student at Nakatsu and the subject of math is not your strong suit... You're in luck! Ms. Taylore Nguyen organizes a math tutoring session during lunchtimes at this campus, where you can learn more about math and understand what you go over in class every day.

Though Wednesday is a short day that holds no clubs in the afternoon, Thursday comes back with a few different fun activity options. There's the Yoga/Pilates (or Yogalates) club lead by Ms. Sim, where you can increase your flexibility and stamina with yoga and strengthen your core with pilates; and there's the Strategy Games club led by Mr. William Russell and Mr. Andrew Wright, where you can improve critical thinking and problem solving, as well as enjoy yourself as you crush your enemies, with cool and fun modern tabletop games.

After a long week, it's nice to relax and melt into the Friday afternoon with the promise of a weekend ahead of you, and these days offer fun clubs for students on both campuses. At Nakatsu, Ms. Nguyen and Ms. Nicole Panoho run the Happiness Club, where members explore their joys and what makes them happy, and can have fun and make friends in a stress free environment.

Over on the Tosabori campus, high school students can engage in friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition with their peers in Chess Club, lead by Mr. Ted Brugman; sometimes the games can get... quite intense. Next to the classroom filled with the sounds of mellow playlists and opponents being beaten, Mr. Patrick Anderson runs the Friday Lounge Act club, where members can play and create music with the instruments on hand and/or read a book in the adjoined library room.

During lunchtimes on Friday, the OYIS Quiz Team studies quiz categories and common/frequent questions with Mr. Chris Baier. Though not every question is answered correctly, it is a fun activity that exercises your brain and allows you to engage in more friendly competition with friends and classmates.

While we will miss some of the clubs that won't be continuing, we are excited for a new semester with new activities, and we look forward to another few months of learning more and having fun with our community.

Have a jolly winter break, everyone!

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