By Michael Ganci, Local Media Editor, Syntax, for The Bronxville School

Nov. 4, 2015:  Bronxville Middle School eighth-graders are learning in exciting new ways and exploring different interests through several clubs this year. Those clubs include School of Rock, Engineering Challenges, Automotive Mechanics, Digital Photography, How to Use Spreadsheets, Understanding the Media, Leadership Development, Public Speaking and Debate, and Sports Broadcasting.

Students can elect to take six out of nine clubs over the course of the school year. Middle school teachers, who are offering content outside their disciplines to help students explore new interests, are leading the clubs.

"It's an opportunity for students to learn how to argue and get comfortable speaking in front of a group of people," said Mary Schenck, the advisor of the Public Speaking and Debate Club. "We've done all sorts of debates, including cake versus pie, whether rats are our friends or foes, and whether or not Jack of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' is guilty of murder. The students have a lot of fun exercising their speaking skills. These are skills they'll use not only in class, but later in life as well."

Depending on the club, eighth-graders have the opportunity to create their own music, design and build with a variety of materials, or spend time under the hood of a car to learn how it runs. They also get to develop their own sports broadcasts or analyze how the media use language and music to manipulate how one thinks.

"Choosing School of Rock as my first choice for the advisory club was definitely one of the best decisions I made," eighth-grader Ally Bruno said. "I'm really into music; it's one of my favorite hobbies. I get to perform once a cycle, every couple of days. Having another chance to perform music during school hours was a perfect opportunity for me."

Bruno worked with fellow eighth-grader Andrew Berkery, who wrote a song for his group to perform on guitar, cello, trombone, and violin. "When it came together, it made for a very interesting and unique sound," Berkery said.

Other students said they enjoyed learning how to take pictures from different angles and editing them afterwards. Delaney O'Brien, who took Sports Broadcasting as her first choice, said she was interested in learning how the process worked and had fun filming voiceover with her friends.

Eighth-grader James Apostolatos, who joined the How to Use Spreadsheets Club, said he is looking forward to participating in the Engineering Challenges and Public Speaking and Debate clubs to further challenge himself and improve his speaking skills. 

For more information on the clubs, check out the principal's message. You can also watch a video about the clubs on the district's website.

Pictured here (top to bottom):  Bronxville Middle School eighth-graders build catapults in their Engineering Challenges Club, have the opportunity to create their own music in the School of Rock Club, and develop their own sports broadcasts in the Sports Broadcasting Club.  

Photos courtesy The Bronxville School