Fishing Club

If the table with the cooked fish at the Club Fair caught your eye, then Fishing Club is for you. Fishing Club is centered around fishing culture. This club is fairly new and was started at the end of last school year. Once a month, the club has an event where they go out to a body of water and fish. This event will be available to anyone interested and happen outside of school hours. Usually the Wednesday before, Fishing Club will have a lunch meeting where they will plan and prepare for their outing. This year, the overall goal of Fishing Club is to have more people join. “I just want to show people how great fishing is, and to connect them with their environment at the same time,” Fishing Club president Savva Brown said. The commitment level is quite low, and it is completely acceptable to miss a few meetings here and there. Also, at the end of the year, Fishing Club plans to clean a local body of water to keep the fish healthy so everyone can continue to fish for years to come. This event is a big goal that the club is working towards, and they would love help with planning it!

Kickin’ It With RM

If you love blasting a bouncy ball for a homerun, look no further than Kickin’ With RM. RM is one of the few high schools to offer a kickball club, so students looking for a unique activity are sure to get a “kick” out of this club. Club President and senior Gabi Infante said, “[New students] should join because it’s a fun time to play kickball with friends and meet new people”. Meetings typically consist of playing kickball, eating snacks, and getting to know other members of the club. The club meets Tuesdays after school from 2:45 pm-3:45 pm; the exact schedule varies, but club members will be alerted of plans ahead of time. For those looking for a club without commitment, Kickin’ With RM is an excellent choice. Anyone is welcome to come whenever they want to play. This year, the club hopes to add more game opportunities and is working to plan a tournament with other schools. If you’re interested in joining the club, follow them on Instagram @kickinitwithrm or email Gabi Infante at [email protected] to get more information.

Happy Tree Club

This brand new RM club aims to be as happy as all the trees, birds and squirrels in Bob Ross’s paintings. The Happy Tree club is inspired by the chill and relaxing teachings of legendary artist and nature lover, Bob Ross. “We all have a lot of stress in our lives and we need to chill. We need to have art in our lives,” club president and founder senior Siqi Wu said. This brand new club plans to meet on Thursdays during lunch in room 39 to paint and draw while following Ross’s tutorials from his show, “The Joy of Painting”. Each episode is based on a different natural landscape, so get ready to paint a variety of scenic views while listening to Ross’s soothing voice. They also plan to apply the techniques from his videos and paint a Bob Ross-inspired mural in the RM art hallway later this year. So, if you’re looking for a club that appreciates painting nature, positive vibes and a whole lot of Bob Ross, joining this club would be more than a happy accident!

Conspiracy Theory Club

Are you looking for a club that is dedicated to protecting you from the government’s mind control? Well, grab your tin-foil hat and look no further than RM’s very own Conspiracy Theory Club! Conspiracy Theory Club is a veteran club at RM, spanning back to its humble beginnings in 2018, as a way to share the joy and silliness of many crazy conspiracy theories. The club’s founder, Rina Levy, had been inspired to create the club from an end of the year assignment in her history class.“We ended the year with conspiracy theory projects about pivotal events in American history. I remember our class having a lot of fun joking around and research in the conspiracy theories and it just sort of became a running joke,” Levy said. “The purpose of the club is to have a good time and not to take anything too seriously,” Levy said. The club is structured in a way that allows students to come in prepared with a presentation on a conspiracy theory they find interesting or silly and then present it to the club, “Everyone has full creative rights over their presentation if they choose to do one. So that can be anything as tame as referencing some photographs to dressing up in head-to-toe tinfoil,” Levy said. “If you sign up for a presentation, the floor is completely yours, but if that’s not your jam you can always just sit and enjoy what others have prepared,” Levy said. Meetings are held every other Wednesday in room 216 at lunch!

Beyblade Club

Be prepared to take a trip down memory lane with Beyblade Club! Every Wednesday at lunch in room 263, this club competes in friendly tournaments of this top spinning childhood game. The club also plays other classic games such as Magic the Gathering and Pokemon. There are also card games happening throughout the lunch period. “We used to have donuts once a month, and we are bringing that back this year,” Beyblade Club President senior Isaac Lim said. This club offers a time to relax and enjoy your time around people with an affinity for childhood games. If you are busy during lunch and can’t attend a meeting, that is not a problem. Members are not required to come to every meeting. Show up to meetings to enjoy a surprise donut, Beyblade and hanging out with friends.

Neuroscience Club

There’s Biology Club, Chemistry Club, and Physics Club, but if you’re looking for a little bit of brain food, check out Neuroscience Club! On Tuesdays in room 308, Francesca Venditti, the current club president, comes in with a new lesson about the nervous system, whether it be a review about cognitive science or discussing the relation between quantum mechanics and the consciousness. Throughout the year, each meeting will feature a lesson, experiments, distinguished speakers, or a mix of all three. Members especially look forward to lectures at NIH and the blind food tests. “It gives us the experience, and it’s not just us watching videos,” freshman Cindy Chen said. The club also participates in a bimonthly publication by the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA), where members can submit articles to the journal and get them published. “A lot of people have clubs where they’re already doing a lot of competitions or they’re doing all this intense stuff, but I just think it makes science more of a hassle,” Venditti said, “I don’t want people to feel like it should be something hard and super difficult to commit to. I just want them to have a fun experience”. Neuroscience Club meets on Tuesdays in room 308, usually the first and last Tuesdays of the month. If you have any questions, just shoot a quick email to [email protected] or ask the club sponsor, Ms. Guggenbiller.

Archaeology Club

This year is going to be big for the Archaeology club! Fresh off a summer of working at their MCPS Archaeology Society official dig site known as “Riggs House,” the club is ready to get to work back at RM. Every Thursday after school in room 218, the club spends one hour washing and cataloging all of the artifacts they discovered at the dig site. While they will continue to do that throughout the rest of the year, the club’s current plan is to grow in attendance. Club leader and senior Brennan Rose said, “We plan to extend club advertising by making a website, setting up a display in the media center, and playing an ad on RMBC.” Attendance is not mandatory every week, but it will be more helpful in understanding the club the more you participate. So, take some time on your Thursday afternoons to stop by room 218 for an hour and see what is going on!

Student Legal Association

If you’re interested in learning the mechanics of law or pursuing a future in it, Student Legal Association (SLA) might be the perfect fit for you! The club meets every other Tuesday, in room 212, where SLA engages its members in the study of law. Specifically, they invite guest speakers, hold presentations, initiate discussions, and even manage trips to local courts. In fact, the club is currently solving the logistics for a visit to the Supreme Court. Junior Amy Zhai, an officer in the leadership team, said, “I joined because I thought that the club would be a great opportunity for me to gain knowledge through guest speakers and hearing everyone’s insights, as well as sharing my own knowledge about the legal process”. People of all experiences are welcome, all you need is an open mind and an interest in law. As for commitment level, SLA meets every other Tuesday. “The club is pretty chill. Just come, discuss, eat snacks and learn,” co-president of SLA and senior Jolly Rop said, “You don’t have to attend every meeting, but if you do, bring a friend”. So, if a lowkey law discussion club piques your interest, plan on attending the next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

RMHS Interact

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, flexible club that works on leadership skills and serve the community, RMHS Interact is for you! This club is focused on community service as well as building student leaders in the RM community. In previous years, RMHS Interact has worked with Stepping
Stones Shelter in Rockville and will continue volunteering with similar service outlets this year and in the future. Last year they cleaned around Stepping Stones and organized the donated items into categories such as food, clothes, and kitchen appliances.

Active club member and junior Julianna Olano said, “Giving back to the local community makes me become more of a well-rounded person, while feeling proud that my school engages us in helping with shelters and community service nearby. It’s a great way to also earn SSL hours.” This club stands out against other service clubs by being supported by the Rotary, meaning they have access to adult resources who have a similar mission as RMHS Interact, but on a higher level. Contact Senior Nick Olano for more information.

Generation Z

Generation Z Tutoring is all about forming bonds between tutors and their tutees. They offer weekly tutoring at nearby public libraries for elementary and middle school students in a variety of subjects (math, science, English —you name it). The service is entirely free to ensure anyone can have access to the opportunity, but volunteers can earn CAS or SSL hours.

Generation Z is looking for tutors that are genuinely passionate about teaching and learning. “It’s really rewarding when you see them grow,” club leader and senior Laura Yao said. Members work one-on-one with their own student (or maybe two). This makes for flexible hours that work easily with your schedule—you’d most likely volunteer for an average of an hour per week. Commitment to in-school meetings is low, but you will be expected to diligently maintain communications with your student and their family in order to arrange the sessions. The club has really grown in the past year and is hoping to expand to group teaching as well. The focus on working peer-to-peer makes for less distant learning space and more fun!

Their motto? It’s a tutoring club for students, by students.

If you’re interested, contact the club leaders through their website (http://rmhsgenerationz.weebly.com/) or through email ([email protected]).

This article was adapted from the Centerspread page of the October 2019 print issue.