This year, five new clubs have been added to Sacred Heart Academy’s (SHA) extensive list of extracurricular activities and organizations open to SHA girls. These five clubs include: Academic Team, Anime Club, Mock Trial, Spirit Club and S.T.A.R. Programmers Club.

Academic Team has actually been on a few years’ hiatus and is being reintroduced this year by Mrs. Fran Saukas, club moderator, and seniors Elizabeth LoPreiato and Hannah Levesque, co-captains. Academic Team participates in various trivia contests such as quiz bowls, tournaments involving multiple schools at either the local, state or national level. The club also holds contests against the SHA faculty and any other SHA group that wishes to challenge them. Meetings are held every Tuesday in room 306, starting before school at 7 a.m. After school meetings will be implemented after the completion of the school musical. Meetings prepare students for competition by studying various topics, ranging from sports to mythology, and by teaching buzzer and question-answering strategies. Academic Team is open to any and all students, regardless of their knowledge and background in trivia.

Anime Club strives “to share the awesomeness that is anime,” states, club President, Keely Greiner. This is accomplished during meetings by exploring different topics, anime episodes and videos that embrace different aspects of anime and the cultures surrounding it. Anime usually refers to Japanese cartoons or animations, although it can also include cartoons of other Asian cultures in certain cases. Anime Club is led by President Keely Greiner, Vice-President Jessica Debs, Secretary Helena Pinchot and Treasurer/Assistant Secretary Krystyna Lugo along with the club moderators, Mrs. Kathryn Cioffi and Ms. Samantha Church. Meetings are held every other Wednesday after school in Room 313, with about two meetings each month. In the future, the club plans to offer foods, such as Pocky (a popular Japanese snack) at meetings and also to attend a convention later in the year, such as ConnectiCon or BostonCon. More information about anime and Anime Club meetings and events can be found on Keely Greiner’s website, http://animekg.weebly.com/ and on the Anime Club posters located throughout the school.

Mock Trial is a club that explores different aspects of law and aims to compete in mock trial competitions next year. Mock trial competitions essentially simulate real court trials, in which students act as attorneys, witnesses and bailiffs. They are held each year at the regional, state and national level for varying levels of education (middle school, high school and collegiate). Every year, a new mock trial court case is released that teams will use to compete as either the Plaintiff (or Prosecution) and/or Defense side at the trial. The leadership for Mock Trial includes: Mrs. Rebecca Hyland (moderator), Amy Ziobron (president), Amanda Savona (vice-president), Eunji Lee (secretary) and Yanling Fang (treasurer). Meetings will mainly be held after school on Thursdays in Room 139, although scheduling is flexible. Meetings will be spent examining various aspects of law and mock trial, reviewing past mock trial cases, and preparing this year’s case as if we were competing. The club also plans to observe mock trial competitions this year, including Nationals, which will be held in Hartford. Mock Trial will engage and improve public speaking skills, legal knowledge, debating skills, acting capabilities and the ability to think on your feet. Mock Trial is a great club for anyone who enjoys acting , debating and law.

Spirit Club aims to promote school spirit and community between SHA classes, faculty and staff through the planning and organizing of school-wide activities and events, such as Field Day. Club leadership consists of two club moderators, Mrs. Kim Curbow and Ms. Kristin Filipowicz, President, Emily Fowler and Vice-President Maddie Fusco. Discussions and preparations for upcoming events take place in the gym after school every other Tuesday (the first meeting was on 9/16 and additional dates can be found in the school planner under “Spirit”). All are welcome to take part in Spirit Club.

S.T.A.R. (Students Tinkering with Awesome Robots) Programmers Club is the new face of the Technology Club led by Dr. Elizabeth Christophy and Mrs. Kathryn Cioffi. Student leadership positions are not yet determined; therefore they are still open to interested members. S.T.A.R. Programmers Club meets in Room 313 after school on the dates listed in the school planner as “Technology.” During meetings students will experiment with robots, BB8 and Sphero, in order to program them to run mazes, climb ramps, change colors and much more. BB8 and Sphero will also be used to film a movie created by the club. The club will also arrange an all-school Hour of Code as well as other special events further into the school year. S.T.A.R. Programmers Club looks forward to people joining so they can help develop the club into a fun and educational experience about programming.