High School Club Descriptions

Student Government

Advisors – Mr. P. Strader and Ms. P. Cardo

Class Advisors:

• 9th: Ms. M. Tunstead
• 10th: Mr. B. Hilly
• 11th: Mr. F. Walling
• 12th: Mr. P. Strader and Ms. C. Bender

Student Government is both the students’ outlet for their concerns and their voice for change. It can and should involve all students. There is a place for everyone! The executive board is selected from students who have two or more years in the organization. Student government organizes the events that involve the entire school. These events include: Homecoming, Spirit Week, the Pep Rally and the parade. Student government members are involved in fundraising, dances, spirit nights and other activities. They also involve themselves in activities that encourage school pride and community service.

Meetings are scheduled once per week in the high school library.

Art Club

Advisor – Ms. A. Derasmo

The Art Club is for the student who wants to explore art further than the school day allows. A student may pursue his or her individual art or become involved in art in the school community. If you are interested in any type of visual art media or making our school community a powerful voice for the arts, join us!

Big Brothers, Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island is currently recruiting volunteer mentors for school-based programs in Westhampton Beach School District.

The premise of the school-based program is to match high school volunteers, over the age of sixteen, to elementary and middle school children in Westhampton Beach. The “Bigs” meet with their “Littles” once a week after school. The Bigs help the children with their homework and share a variety of activities including reading, sports, arts and crafts, etc. More importantly, the Bigs become special friends, offering additional support, attention, encouragement, and positive alternatives. The Middle School Program meets on Mondays and the Elementary School Program meets on Thursdays.

This is a terrific opportunity for students to obtain valuable experience, enhance college applications, and become eligible for scholarships while helping children in their own community. Students interested in volunteering their time must be over the age of 16 by October 2005. If interested, please contact Mr. Casswell, Principal or Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island at (631) 287-0086.

C.U.R.E. (Classmates United in Restoring the Environment)

Advisor – Mr. J. Kommer

Classmates United in Restoring the Environment (C.U.R.E. ) is the environmental voice on the campus of WHBHS. C.U.R.E. is an active group, raising money for charitable causes, and performing environmental projects all over the campus. Students work hard and play hard in C.U.R.E. activities such as beach cleanups, canoe trips and other outdoor adventures that augment the environmental focus of the group. Any and all students are encouraged to join C.U.R.E. to be a part of the work, a part of the fun and a part of the purpose of Classmates United in Restoring the Environment.

Meetings are held on Fridays after school.

Chamber Choir

Advisor—Ms. L. Howard

The Chamber Choir is a highly select vocal ensemble. It performs a cappella music from the classical choral repertoire. Auditions, held in September, are open to 9th—12th graders. Rehearsals are Tuesday nights from 7-9pm.

Computer Club

Advisor – Mr. C. Buckel
 
The Computer Club meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:20 PM to 4:30 PM. During this time, students are able to work independently on school projects or join in teacher-directed initiatives.

Dance Club

Advisor – Ms. C. Braithwaite

This dance club welcomes males and females grades 9-12. It is non-competitive. Students will share their dancing ideas, have the opportunity to choreograph dance routines, and rehearse and perform at various school and community events. Areas of hiphop, jazz and lyrical will be explored.

Drama Club

Advisor – Ms. L. Howard

The Drama club meets on Wednesday afternoon, from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM in the high school cafetorium. Participants learn all about theatre craft and work through scene study, improvisation and movement exercises to improve performance skills. The Club presents an evening of entertainment, featuring staged scenes, one act plays and student written and directed works. It is open to all interested.

Fall Play

Advisor – Ms. L. Howard

Auditions for the Fall Play will take place during the first week of school and are open to all interested. Rehearsals take place everyday and require total commitment from actors and crew. Performance of the play is at the WHB PAC in November. Actors in the play are eligible for East End Arts Council “Teeny Awards” for outstanding performances.

French Club

Advisor – Ms. P. De Verna

The French Club is open to students currently enrolled in French. This club offers activities and cultural exposure that go beyond the classroom experience. It meets two to four times per month, subject to member availability. Agenda includes foreign films, food, story telling and skits.

Friends for Friends Club

Advisors – Ms. M. Dominski and  Ms. N. Repp

The Friends for Friends Club helps to acclimate freshmen/new students to high school life. Each new student is assigned to a senior who will be a mentor for the year, and both will work on community service projects together. Meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 2:20 p.m. This club is open to Freshmen, Seniors, and new students.

Interact Club

Advisor – Ms. L. Kerr
 
Interact Club is a community service oriented club that is partnered with the Rotary Club of Greater Westhampton. The club is open to all community minded students, grades 9 – 12 who are interested in getting involved in
local events and who are dedicated to serving others who may be less
fortunate. The Interact Club meets twice a month. Students must be committed to attending several after-school events such as the Rotary
Spaghetti Dinner, Food Pantry, Rotary Holiday Party, Operation Christmas Child, Christmastime in Westhampton, Gift of Life Program, Krispy Kreme Fundraiser, Rotary Flea Market, Rotary Exchange student weekend, Camp Paquatuck Duck Race, local parade(s), and the Spooky Walk at Camp
Pa-Qua-tuck.

It's Academic

Advisor – Mr. R. Mirro

The “Academic Club” is open to all students. The club will meet weekly in room 123 after school. The team competes in the L.I. Regional Quiz Bowl competition. All competitions are held at Riverhead High School. We are in the Eastern Division of the Suffolk County regon. Matches are held once a month on Wednesdays. Matches start in late October and run through March. The Long Island Championship is scheduled for April. The team may also compete in the L.I. Challenge on Channel 12.

Jazz Band

Advisor—Mr. T. Comerford

The Jazz Band is designed to introduce the many different genres of jazz music and basic improvisational techniques. This performing group will meet weekly for rehearsals and will perform at a number of concerts and events throughout the year.

Jazz Ensemble

Advisor—Mr. F. Monastero

The Jazz Ensemble is available to student instrumentalists who wish to broaden their performing experience in the jazz and pop idiom. Students will continue to explore various big band styles and further develop their improvisational technique. This performing group will meet weekly for rehearsals and will perform at a number of concerts and events throughout the year.

Literary Magazine

Advisor – Ms. J. Post

Seascapes is the high school’s annual literary magazine that publishes student literary and artistic pieces. While all students are encouraged to submit their
creative works to the magazine for review and possible publication, members of this club actually produce the magazine. They will be responsible for reviewing and rating submissions, creating the layout, and organizing the
printing and distribution of the magazine. All students are welcome to join Seascapes. Meeting dates and times to be announced.

Long Island Teen Institute

Advisor– Mr. J. Ford

Long Island Teen Institute (LITI) is designed for youth who have demonstrated leadership potential in their schools and communities. LITI is a comprehensive education and training program that assists teens in developing the skills necessary to recognize and reduce high-risk behaviors amongst themselves and their peers. LITI promotes positive attitudes and strategies designed to improve all areas of life, such as healthy personal and family relationships, academic success, self-esteem, self-awareness, and the prevention of drug and alcohol use.

Mathletes

Advisor – Ms. K. Mitsos

Mathletes is for anyone in grades 9 through 12 who would like to try and to challenge their knowledge of math. As a club, we travel to different schools to compete. There are five off-campus competitions and five on-campus. Each event is timed and the measured response is how the team members challenge their math skills. Teams are awarded points based on the number of correct answers. Mathletes is a great way to become involved and challenge your mind.

Model Bridge Building Club

Advisor – Mr. R. Mirro

The construction and testing of model bridges promotes the study and application of fundamental principles of physics and also helps students develop hands-on skills. By participating in the Brookhaven National Laboratory Bridge Contest, students get a flavor of what it is to be an engineer. Students are also provided with an academically oriented extracurricular activity which is recognized school-wide.

National Honor Society

Advisor – Ms. A. Demchak

Students who are recognized as having demonstrated outstanding character traits, leadership skills, and significant community service in addition to having a cumulative unweighted average of 89.5% will be invited to apply for membership into the National Honor Society. Invitations will be extended, in writing, to qualified juniors after the completion of their first semester and to seniors at the completion of their first quarter. Appointments will be awarded based on each student’s successful completion of the nomination process, a faculty review, and a summative decision by a faculty committee. Annual projects include a food drive, blood drives, tutoring and other community service projects.

Outdoor Adventure Club

Advisor – Mr. E. Cohen

Students will have the opportunity for enrichment and participation in field explorations with respect to various topics in the earth sciences. Trip locations will include the Manorville Hills and Dwarf Pine Plains of Westhampton, the
Shawangunks, the Catskills, Howe Caverns, the Sterling Hill Zinc Mine and Museum, The Delaware Water Gap, the Custer Institute, the Upton Office of the National Weather Service, and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. Trips will occur on Saturdays or Sundays and focus on the earth science aspects of the areas investigated. Meetings will be held after extra-help on the
Tuesday prior to any upcoming trip. The club is open to all.

Peer Mediation

Advisors – Ms. C. Bender And Mr. D. O’Brien

Peer Mediation was established to help to resolve student conflicts nonviolently within the school. Students must attend a training course before they can become mediators. This club meets regularly with Student Government on Mondays. Anyone interested in becoming a mediator, or continuing their efforts as a mediator, is welcome to attend.

Pep Band

Advisors – Mr. J. Seifert and Mr. T. Comerford

The PEP Band is open to all students enrolled in the High School Band program. Members rehearse during the fall football season, performing at home football games. In addition, the group performs in the annual Westhampton Beach Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day parades. Benefits of membership include: post-rehearsal/performance parties and trips exclusive to the PEP Band.

Poet's Cafe

Advisor – tba

Poets’ Café is an event at which student artists have the opportunity to showcase their talents by reciting poetry, acting out dramatic monologues, vocalizing songs ranging from Broadway show tunes to punk rock, playing music often of their own creation, and creating and performing their own dance routines. Meeting dates and times to be announced.

Robotics

Advisor– TBA

The WHB Robotics Club provides students the opportunity to work alongside professional engineers to design, build, and test robots. Students will work with corporate and community sponsors to compete in regional and championship competitions. Club members gain valuable “hands-on” experience in the areas of science, engineering and technology. The FIRST (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition includes more than 800 teams from nearly every state in the U.S. as well as Brazil, Canada and the U.K. For more information, please visit www.usfirst.org.

Spanish Club

Advisor – Ms. A. Sedano

The WHBHS Spanish Club is for students who are interested in increasing their awareness of the diverse and vibrant culture in the Hispanic American world. Themes that will be examined are: music, food, film, traditional celebrations, visual arts, and the indigenous influences on Hispanic culture. Guest program presenters and Latin dance instructors will be sought and would be exciting additions. We may be able to coordinate a day or afternoon field trip to enhance our cultural experience of the Hispanic American world. Meetings will take place twice monthly.

Spring Musical

Advisor - Ms. L. Howard

This year’s spring musical is the SOUND OF MUSIC. Auditions will be held during the first week in January and performances will be held in the spring in our brand new auditorium. Everyone is invited to audition.

Student Athlete Leadership Team (S.A.L.T.)

Westhampton Beach High School has implemented a peer support program known as S.A.L.T., the Student Athlete Leadership Team. This is a program in which high school student/athletes visit middle school physical education classes and speak to the youngsters about issues such as: peer pressure, sportsmanship, violence prevention and drug abuse prevention. To become a member of S.A.L.T., a student/athlete is nominated by a varsity coach. After the nomination, the student/athlete must submit a required essay of what impact they would have in the program and in their participation in training sessions. The high school students then visit the middle school three times. Each visit is designed with a specific purpose and topic. The final visit culminates with a discussion regarding drug abuse prevention and positive self-esteem activities. This program has proven to produce positive results with middle school students, who look up to high school visitors as role models. It is hoped that this program will aid in the positive development of our future high school students and citizens.

Student Newspaper

Advisor – Ms. C. Betzold

The Hurricane Eye is published five times a year by the four journalism classes. However, any student at WHBHS can participate in the production of the paper by attending monthly meetings to choose articles and headlines, create page layout and edit written work. Students can also submit articles for the paper. All deadlines and meeting dates are posted on the door of Room 207.

Vocal Jazz Ensemble

Advisor – Ms. B. Doyle

The Vocal Jazz Ensemble is open to all students, grades 9-12, who are enrolled in either the Concert Choir or the Symphonic Choir. Auditions for the ensemble are held in late September, and rehearsals are Monday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. This performing group will meet weekly for rehearsals and will perform at a number of concerts and events throughout the year.

Yearbook

Advisor – Ms. K. Berdinka

The Yearbook is a challenging, rewarding yearlong process. We need students to take pictures, create layout using special yearbook software and motivate others to contribute their talents. All grades are welcome - freshmen and
sophomores especially! If you have the time, we have a project for you!

Youth Court

Advisor – Ms. P. Horowitz

The Southampton Town Youth Court provides students the opportunity to learn from local attorneys and trained professionals to become New York State Certified Youth Court Officials. Students will have to successfully complete a multiweek law related education training program. Areas of instruction include an overview of the criminal justice system from arrest through appeal. Students will also be instructed in the art of public speaking as well as the preparation of mock trial openings, directs, crosses and closings. Once a student has graduated they will be assigned real cases which involve young people who have committed a misdemeanor. Youth Court provides excellent training and experience especially for students who are interested in any type of career in law or for those who wish to improve their confidence and public speaking skills. Youth Court meets once a week from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Transportation from WHBHS to Southampton Courts and back is provided. Classes start in September and end in March.

Youth to Youth - Key Club

Advisor – Mr. J. Garvey

In conjunction with Kiwanis International, Youth to Youth is a drug and alcohol peer prevention group that meets every Wednesday after school. All students in grades 9 - 12 are welcome to join us as we spread the drug free message through personal growth, community change, education and awareness and drug-free fun. Monthly projects address community service, elementary school mentoring, trips, etc.