It’s a consensus that one of the biggest recommendations high schoolers would give upcoming middle school students is to get involved. The better question is how? What do the clubs do and how can they get involved in them? 

One of the other opportunities LHS includes (that comes in very handy if you are an out of town student who doesn’t have access to rides) is activity period. Activity Period occurs every first Wednesday of the month, in a 30 minute window in between blocks one and two and allows students to go to different classrooms that have clubs or activities in them. Some clubs only occur during activity periods, like Environmental Action club, Magic the Gathering, Bible club, Interact club, Plant club, Zen coloring club and so many more. These clubs allow people to get a break from school and encourage involvement in the school community. It also allows you to meet new students that have the same interests and make friends outside your comfort zone. Environmental Action club allows students to spread appreciation for the environment and create projects geared to protecting the earth. Magic the Gathering is essentially a trading card game and you use those decks of cards to play against people. The Bible club studies God’s purpose and does tons of fundraisers. Interact club engages in community events funded by Ledyard Rotary. Plant club focuses on taking care of the plants in the art room and learning about plant media. Zen coloring club illustrates themed coloring pages for every month. There are a plethora of opportunities in school for you to meet new friends or meet up with friends and do something you love. 

Then, of course, there are the after school clubs which have even more variety! Each club has an advisor who is also passionate about the subject, which creates a trusted adult for you to go to, in or out the club. There’s clubs involving culture like More than Words, which meets regularly every Tuesday, and are very inclusive. They also run during activity periods giving plenty of opportunities to join the club, and all you have to do is show up! Talking comes easy in this club, as several communities come together, including other schools and talk about global and local cultural issues. Another proactive club is Robotics, attending competitions, and building real robots, this club is a learning experience. All about ownership and responsibility, robotics has the opportunity to make a robot from scratch adhering to a theme, and meeting almost everyday! Key Club meets irregularly, however, they are in charge of super fun volunteering projects like pieing students or teachers for fundraisers, taping teachers to a wall, and hiding eggs in the elementary school for Easter. They have a plethora of leadership opportunities that build great skills especially starting off in the earlier years of high school. Like Robotics and More than Words, Key Club is participational and the first part to joining is just showing up to a meeting. Mentor Club requires a bit more responsibility as for it you become a mentor to younger students and need a ride to get to their school. It’s a fun way to gain leadership skills and grow empathy as you must put yourself in the students shoes, show up and grow up with them! Ski Club has more afterschool-to-night participation as you go on a field trip to different mountains to ski and don’t get back to school till late, however, it’s very engaging with friends and creates amazing memories. Ensuring you fill in the permission slips and stay attentive to the google classroom for the club participation is easy. Overall all clubs typically have the same signing up method, just show up! Most of them have a google classroom to keep in communication.

Additionally, upperclassmen advise you don’t conform to whatever club your friends are going to. Pop the bubble of comfort and reach out to things that pique your interest, even if you aren’t in love with the idea, you never know what it’s gonna be like to participate in something outside your comfort zone. If your friends aren’t okay with that, then maybe high school is your excuse to move on and grow out of that friendship, not everything is set in stone and high school can be the refresh you need. The group mindset doesn’t allow you to be proactive and make a name for yourself at the school, you won’t be known as yourself, but as a clump of people. The advisor of over five clubs, Mr. Jannke says, “Try three or four clubs; there are no consequences to trying it out once or twice. You’re bound to find one that you feel connected to and stick with it!” It’s an overall consensus that trying out clubs and seeing what works for you is the best choice. 

Lastly, if none of the clubs tickle your fancy, you are 100% open to creating a new one! It may seem difficult especially as an underclassmen, but all you need is a connection to one teacher willing to sponsor the code, and a group of people who have the same interest as you (and it doesn’t have to be your friends). However, if you want to collaborate with a friend to take some of the stress and load off that also perfectly fine. It helps create a strong bond and creating a club teaches you skills you can only develop making one. Overall clubs as one already know is one of the best ways to get involved and there’s so much diversity when it comes to them and there’s bound to be something for you!

Ariana Gutierrez, Staff Leader

Senior Ariana Gutierrez is a staff writer for the 2025-2026 Colonel News site. She likes reading, dilly dallying and talking WAY too much.