These clubs are interest-related and deserve to have spotlights on them!
Pen Pal
During meetings, members write letters to senior centers, like Lytton Gardens. Ella or Condi choose the topics for each day, such as “What are your hobbies and what did you do over break?” Sophomore and president Ella Yee said, “The goal of our club is to make the people in our community happy with written letters by us [students].”
Co-president Condoleezza Brew, a sophomore, said, “This club is unique to me because, when I was younger, I used to love writing letters to pen pals set up by my schools. The responses always made me want to write again and again even if I didn’t get a response more than once. So just for other people to feel that joy like I did is something special.” Pen Pal Club started this 2022-2023 school year. Yee said, “Condoleezza and I started the Pen Pal club because we wanted people in the community, and other areas around the US to receive both letters of encouragement and letters where they can respond and write back to us.” The Pen Pal Club meets on Tuesdays in G-4 during lunch. To join the club’s Remind, you can use the code @d7hda2.
History Enthusiasts Assembly
Club meetings begin with a brief presentation of the topic they are discussing that day. Past topics have included the Century of Humiliation, the Holodomor, the Winter and Continuation Wars, Alan Turing, art through history, and more! Currently, they are going to have a meeting about the Cuban Revolution. They end with questions to spark conversation for the remainder of the meeting. Junior and President Braedan Grant said, “We are, at our core, a history-focused club, primarily focused on the stories and perspectives untold at the courses offered here at M-A.”
Club member junior Carlos Myers-Ascencio said, “I’ve learned a lot about events that our history class might not touch on and events that are happening right now. It’s super fun joking around with my friends about some really obscure historical events, and I’m learning a lot in the process. I like that this club opens the doors for everyone to give their thoughts on certain events. Grant added, “The goal of this club is to provide a space to converse and think about the lesser-discussed perspectives and stories of history.” History Enthusiasts Assembly Club meets on Friday during lunch in B-4. You can join History Enthusiast Assembly Club by using this link to go directly to their Remind https://www.remind.com/join/historyent.
Short Story Writing Club (SSW)
In meetings, members receive writing prompts or outlines to generate ideas for short stories. Sometimes they will play writing games, such as Mad Libs. Other times, members work on a piece of their own to share with each other.
Sophomore president Evelyn Nassiri said, “I usually introduce writing contests outside of school so that members can join. They are fun writing contests where individuals can participate, earn rewards, and publish their stories for others to read!” Sophomore Kim Pols, a club member, said, “This club is unique to me because I love how it prioritizes writing as an activity you choose, not a commitment. Many clubs now feel like taking an extra class since they seem to focus on achieving specific, large-scale goals, likely for college applications.
“Comparatively, attending a club where I really feel like I decide to participate in activities that align with my own interests is definitely a breath of fresh air,” Nassiri said. “I started my club this year because I wanted to make a space for any student who wants the freedom to write short stories based on their imagination. I used to love writing small stories about things that inspire me in daily life when I was younger. I thought it would be cool if I started a club where everyone can put their ideas into words and express themselves through literature.”
The Short Story Writing Club (SSW) meets in G-9 on Monday during lunch.
To join SSW, text 81010 with this message @ssw22-23.
Aletheas Philosophy
Aletheas Philosophy Club is an organization that helps teach people about philosophy.
During meetings, they organize and design classes, and plan different agendas to make sure their club and program reach more people. Junior and President Ajax Fu said, “There are many out-of-school activities for our club! During the club meetings, we plan these events, but we fulfill the majority of our plans outside of school. All of the courses we teach, for example, are free online classes taught on Zoom. We also often have club meetings outside of school to hangout and share ideas. We have taught classes such as Intro to Philosophy, Intro to Ancient Greek, Intro to Middle Egyptian Hieroglyphs, and our next class in April is Intro to Epistemology. Every year, we teach a lot of classes in the summer.”
Club member junior Cameron Leung said, “My experience with the club has been excellent. Our meetings mainly consist of discussing future plans for the organization, whether it be scheduling plays or planning courses. We also meet outside of school to further discuss said topics. I really enjoy the members of the club, and the environment is extremely healthy and fun. The concept and organization of Aletheas as a whole are extremely unique. How often do you see a club run by high schoolers teaching students about classics and philosophy?” Leung said. “The goal of our club is to spread outreach and foster interest in a variety of what we think are under-taught subjects in middle school and high school, and we focus mainly on classics and philosophy. Through our free online classes, we hope to provide more access to these interesting fields!” Aletheas Philosophy Club meets in B-4 on Friday during lunch. You could join this club by joining Remind (@aletheaspc) or by emailing [email protected] directly.
Students to Seniors
Students to Seniors meets in G-2 on Wednesday during lunch. During meetings, they make cards for senior citizens in the community and reply to the cards that seniors write back. If people do not receive a card from a specific person they can make generalized cards to start and form new relationships with them. Sophomore president Addison McCombs said, “Our club started with the love for service and senior citizens. Also, my co-founder’s grandma who had Alzheimer’s spent some time there at the Rosener House in Menlo Park California where we write our cards too. I wanted to continue the service in her memory. And it has only been a club from the beginning of this school year and we hope to continue it for the rest of high school.”
Club member sophomore Elizabeth Hoffman said, “My experience has been so exciting—I look forward to every meeting I have with hopes there’s a letter waiting for me!”
McCombs continued, “We are planning on an in-person trip to the Rosener House when we can, which is a day center for older adults who may be unable to live independently. Especially now that more and more restrictions have been lifted there we hope to really interact with our pen pals in person.”
To join Students to Seniors, you can text @9abe7eg to 81010 to join the Remind.
Reusables Club
The Reusables Club meets in G-13 on Tuesdays during lunch. During meetings, they send letters to the city council advocating for changing foodware policies in San Mateo County, attend and present at city council meetings, and also make posters for upcoming environmental events, conferences, and festivals. Sophomore president Eileen Liu said, “I wanted to help more businesses in moving towards zero waste through reusable foodware. I started to make public comments on reusable foodware policy to Redwood City and Half Moon Bay city councils. I wanted to engage more members of the community and students who were also interested in changing foodware policies so I started the club this school year. Freshman Nora Jane Palmer, a club member, said, “Each meeting is very fun and informative. We also have snacks and baked goods at every meeting. The unique thing about this club is that the things we do go beyond M-A.” Liu said, “There are many outside-of-school activities for this club, mainly environmental events, conferences, and festivals. We recently attended the Love Our Earth Festival and the Los Altos High School Students for Green High Schools Conference.” The code to join the Remind is @reusea.
