A Look Into Laurel’s Clubs

by Jackson Sauders

Here at Laurel there is a large variety of activities and clubs that a student can join. Below is a brief description of a few of the student's favorite school activities and clubs. 

Conservation Club

The Conservation Club is run by Mr.Shevitz, who is the 7-8th grade math teacher. In the club, members have the opportunity to do a variety of activities such as small game hunting. The goal is to get more games than the other competitors and have the chance to win a prize. Stock trout is another activity where members go to a fish nursery in Slippery Rock . The members will then take those fish to local ponds and rivers in Laurel so that people can continue to fish there. Students can also help to clean up garbage from the roads. Conservation club is a lot of fun and it’s a great way to help your local environment and to make friends.

Academic Games

Academic Games is run by Mr.Pertile, who is the high school guidance counselor. The games are a mix of Mathematics, Language Arts, and Social Studies competitions that challenge students' knowledge about the topics. There are 7 games that a student can play. They are: Equations, On-Sets, LinguiSHTIK, Propaganda, Presidents, Theme, and  Current Events. In the Academic Games there is a chance that a player can go to Nationals! To get to Nationals a student needs to win (which means the player will have to come in a certain percentile to win) two events to qualify for the  Academic Games Nationals! Nationals are typically held in different areas around the East Coast every year. This year’s Nationals will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Sports

The athletic director is Mr. Ken Locke and the assistant athletic director is Mrs. Lori Hites. Laurel offers ten sports in total. Six sports are held in the fall: Jr. High/Varsity Football, Varsity Girls Volleyball, Cheerleading, Girls Jr. High Basketball, Cross Country, and Golf. Four sports are held in the winter months: Wrestling, Junior High/Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity Girls Basketball, and Cheerleading. Finally, five sports have seasons in the spring: Track, Baseball, Softball, Girls Junior High Volleyball, and Cheerleading.  Overall, there is always a sport to do anytime of the year and it’s a great way for a student to stay in shape and to make new friends. Below is the link to the school’s athletic page. 

https://www.laurelspartans.com/athletics

Band

The band director is currently Mr. Boyer. In band, students can play in concert band and/or marching band. Concert band is something a student can do all year around and they have many concerts throughout the year. Marching band is during the fall, and members can play at many places such as Kennywood, Gerard, and the annual Band Festival at New Castle.  This year the marching band will even be going to Disney World in January!

Youth Alive

Youth Alive is run by Mrs. Ernst, who is one of the two Spanish teachers at the high school. In this club the student will be doing activities like “See You at the Pole.” The club ends the meetings in prayer and studies scripture from the Bible.

Overall Laurel Middle-High School offers a wide variety of activities and clubs that are sure to spark the interest of students that may be looking to get involved. These school clubs/activities are a great way to show your school pride and to come closer with students and members that share a common interest!