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Syerra is a senior and this is her third year in Journalism. She is the editor of The Fluco Beat and a member of the BETA Club. She likes to read and...
September 14, 2018
A table at the FBLA sponsored Breast Cancer Walk last spring. Photo courtesy of FCHS Journalism.
Clubs can be a great way to connect with others who share your similar interests, as well as introduce you to new topics or interests that you may never have considered before. Fluvanna County High School has nearly 40 clubs to choose from with focuses ranging from politics and speech, to yoga and fishing.
With so many options, it can be difficult to choose the right one that matches your particular interests and works with your schedule. Here’s a brief guide to give you a list of all the clubs at FCHS, as well as insight into a number of clubs which provided more information in a recent survey. (Note that Clubs Week is the 2nd and 4th week of the month during Fluco Focus. Clubs which meet during other weeks as well will be noted below.)
Literary Magazine Club: The Lit Mag Club is open to all students and is sponsored by Journalism Adviser Elizabeth Pellicane. They meet in room 4501 on Club Week Mondays during Fluco Focus. The primary focus of the club is to allow students to share their work in a “positive, supportive environment, as well as produce the annual Literary Magazine and get students’ work published on the Fluco Beat website,” said Pellicane. Over the years, they have gotten well over a 1000 students’ poetry, prose, and artwork published through their annual magazine. According to Pellicane, the club’s main goal for the year is to encourage students to regularly attend meetings and “produce an amazing, professional magazine that wins awards.”
HOSA (Future Health Professionals of America): HOSA meets in room 4314 on Wednesdays and is sponsored by Nursing teacher Karen Green and EMT teacher Stephanie Corbin. This club’s purpose is to “empower future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience,” Green said. They have participated in events such as the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, Color Awareness months, the State Leadership Conference, Mental Awareness week, Fall Leadership Academies, and HOSA day at the State Fair. Current, past, or future Nurse Aid, EMT, Health and Medical, or Medical Terminology students are welcome to join. HOSA’s goal for the year is to attend the State Conference in Williamsburg.
Fluco Power Team: Power Team aims to help students become strong, powerful athletes. They meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month in the weight room and health class, and are sponsored by PE teachers Devin Watkins and Steve Szarmach. They have participated in FCHS’s Helping Hands, weight lifting competitions, and the Arnold Classic. This club is only open to 9th through 12th graders and their main focus this year is to work on getting their athletes strong and explosive.
Alliance: Sponsored by teachers Rebecca Newman, Mandy Hoy, Angela Washington, Kate Chidester, Kim Mayfield, and Rachel Moravec, they meet in room 4511 on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. Alliance is a social and service club centered around LGBTQ+ issues. They have been involved in events such as the Homecoming Parade and Break the Silence. This year they will be focusing on “increasing the service aspect of the club through events that encourage support and understanding of LGBTQ+ youth,” said Newman. The club is open to all students dedicated to making a difference in the LGBTQ+ community.
Movie Club: New to FCHS, the Movie Club is sponsored by Tony Christ and meets in room 4615 on Tuesdays. The main focus of the club is watching and discussing a variety of movies. The club is open to all students and their goal for the year is to broaden their view of movies.
Fluco Tennis Club: Tennis Club is open to all students and meets after school from 4-6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the FCHS tennis courts. Sponsored by Coach Feda Morton and Coach Laura Chow, the club was formed to help students learn and improve upon their tennis skills to strengthen the spring tennis program for boys and girls at FCHS. Morton said heir primary goal for the year is to “improve the overall skills of members of the spring tennis teams.”
FCHS Timber Framers Guild: Also new to FCHS this year, this club is sponsored by Carpentry teacher Paul Chirico and meets in the woodshop. Chirico said the purpose of the club is to “promote and perpetuate timber framing.” To become a member, you have to complete Carpentry I and II and have an interest in timber framing. Their goal this year is to attend a timber framing workshop.
Fluco Club: Fluco Club is comprised of athletic/school leaders who are involved in service projects in and out of the school, such as mentoring younger athletes and assisting the school in athletic promotions. Sponsored by Sara Miles, Scott Morris, Heath Bralley, and Earl Gibson, they meet in the athletic training room on the 1st and 3rd Mondays. The club has been involved in activities like SPCA volunteering, UNICEF, Hands on Fluvanna, and reading to elementary school students. They also ran fundraisers to send water bottles to hurricane victims, and to raise awareness and funds for Louisa Head Football Coach Mark Fischer and Multiple Myeloma. The club is exclusive to 11th and 12th grade athletes who are leaders in the school and on their teams and are nominated by their coaches. This year, their goal is to continue their involvement in school and community projects to demonstrate how much Flucos care about the community.
Foreign Language Club: Sponsored by Linda Fletcher, the club’s goal is to “include a foreign language/international culture presence in the Homecoming parade.” They meet in room 4401 after school during the spirit week prior to Homecoming. It is open to past or present foreign language students, and their goal for the year is to create and build “an awesome float for Homecoming.”
Beta Club: Beta is a service club with “modest goals” due to their limited time frame. Sponsor Barbara Marshall describes the club as “essentially an honor society” since it requires all members to uphold a GPA of at least 3.5 and have no disciplinary issues. They meet in the auditorium on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays and try to hold one or two events per year to raise money for charity, like the Winter dance, Ultimate Frisbee tournament, and the Mr. FCHS Contest (a male beauty pageant). They hope to provide tutoring to FCHS students this year. Members must be rising 11th and 12th graders and are invited in the spring. There is also a $30 fee that goes to national dues and a sash that is worn at graduation.
FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America): Sponsored by Christine Kreitzman and Linda Harding, FBLA meets in room 4508 on Tuesdays after school from 4-5. The club’s primary goal is to “promote leadership and good business skills.” Events such as the Breast Cancer Walk, the Homecoming Parade, Refocus Band fundraiser, and competitions help raise money and awareness of the club and improve business skills. While FBLA is open to all students, only 9th-12th graders can compete.
Interact: Sponsored by Jimmy Koczan, Caroline Hagan, Aime McCall, Mark. Engel, and Haden Parrish, Interact meets in the cafeteria on Tuesdays. They are a community service club that plans events to benefit local, national, and international communities. They have purchased and packaged over 50,000 meals through Rise Against Hunger and prepared meals for temporary residents of the Charlottesville Ronald McDonald House. Interact sponsors the annual SPCA Food for Animals drive and coordinates with SGA to plan Hands on Fluvanna. Koczan said their biggest goal is to “purchase and package a minimum of 10,000 meals through Rise Against Hunger during Hands on Fluvanna this year.”
Engineer Club: Sponsored by Doug Campbell and Ben Hudson, the club meets in room 4201 on Fridays during Fluco Focus and Tuesdays after school. They provide students with the opportunity to share their interests in engineering. The club is open to all students, and their main goal this year is to “build a working trebuchet to chunk pumpkins,” said Campbell.
Fluco Disc Golf: This club formed to “build friendships and teamwork, improve health and athleticism,” said club sponsor Lauren Struzik. They meet outside of room 4111 on Thursdays. Open to all students, the club’s main goal is to build up disc golf skills to become “disc golf pros.”
FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes): FCA’s purpose is to encourage fellowship with both student athletes and non-athletes to read the testimonies and word of God. They are sponsored by Terrie Wood, Marci Guthrie, Dave Johnson, Devin Watkins, and Jason Boucher, and meet in room 3508 on Thursdays. They have been involved in Fields of Faith, Hands On Fluvanna, Courts of Faith, 5K runs, and Youth Night Invites. Their main goals this year are for Fields of Faith to include all local youth groups, to hold both Courts of Faith and Fields of Faith during spring season, and to host Youth Night Invites every other month.
Yoga Club: Lori Hoffman sponsors the yoga club in the wrestling room on Wednesdays. The purpose of this club is to help their members learn tools that can help them calm down in stressful situations. They practice Hatha Yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises. It is open to all students, but those interested in joining need to sign up with Hoffman in room 3112. The main focus for the yoga club this year is for members to de-stress and learn to live in the moment.
Sophomore Class: This club is comprised of 10th grade sub-committees that promote school spirit, organize events for the class, and plan fundraisers. It is sponsored by teachers Amy Bower and Amy Zdonski and meets in room 4311 on Wednesdays. They have participated in the Homecoming Parade, fundraising, and Powder Puff organization. To join, you must be a 10th grader and agree to participate regularly on a committee. They plan to promote 10th grade school spirit and start fundraising for Prom this year.
Art Club: This club is for all students who are interested in exploring and creating art. Sponsored by teacher Amanda Herring, it meets in rooms 1612 and 1614 on Tuesdays after school. Since this is the club’s first year running, their main goal is “for students to grow in their knowledge of art mediums and find their niche,” said Herring.
Theatre: This club is open to all students and meets Wednesdays, both during Fluco Focus and after school, in room 1518. Sponsored by Craig Edgerton and Michelle Coleman, the club’s main goal is to produce the annual fall and spring plays.
Speech/ Debate: Sponsored by Craig Edgerton and Luke Divine, this club meets in room 1518 on Thursdays during Fluco Focus, and Tuesdays after school. Speech competes in the VHSL, NSDA and ShV AFL Forensic Leagues, and the team has been the Virginia State Champion two out of the last three years. All students are encouraged to join.
Junior Prom: Aaron Grubbs and Rose Brogan sponsor this club, and they meet in room 3512 on Thursdays during Fluco Focus. They are involved in planning Homecoming, Powder Puff, organizing and coordinating Prom, and running fundraisers. The club is open to juniors only.
These are only a few of the clubs available at FCHS. Here is a copy of the full list and each club’s sponsors.
Since many students choose to attend two or more clubs, coordinating which club meets which day can become rather confusing, so here is a helpful chart which shows club meeting days.
Remember that attending clubs not only exposes you to new ideas and acquaintances, it looks really good on a college application or resume. So if you are evenly slightly interested in a club, just attend a meeting. You might make a few friends and develop an interest for something new, and maybe even start yourself on a new career.
Syerra is a senior and this is her third year in Journalism. She is the editor of The Fluco Beat and a member of the BETA Club. She likes to read and...