Our cool school
School Clubs: Get involved
By Carriana Sperry
Looking for something fun to do after school and also become involved with the WMS community? Here are some of our school’s club offerings, most are open for anyone to join, though keep in mind some clubs require an application.
Yearbook Club
If you like reminiscing about the school year by looking through the yearbook, why not take part in making it? If you join the Yearbook Club, you will work to design and create the WMS yearbook. From picking out fonts, to page layout, there are a lot of steps to creating the yearbook. If this is something you are interested in, come check it out! This club is advised by Mrs. Baransky HR 8E.
Builders Club
Builders Club helps out the community. If you love to give a helping hand and give back to your community, Builders Club is definitely for you. They organize food drives, collect pet supplies to donate to the Meriden Humane Society, and help the Meriden community in many ways. For more information, see Mrs. McBride in HR 2E or Mrs. M. Moore in HR 3A or come to one of our meetings. Anyone is welcome at any time.
Student Council
For those of you who have been to a school dance and would like to take part in planning a dance or other school activities, come check out Student Council. Student Council does a lot more though. In the past, they have sold carnations for Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day. This year they organized a movie night, for FREE even. The students had a great time watching The Maze Runner. For more information see Mr. Langlois HR 4C, Mrs. Flanagan HR 3C, or Mrs. Vollono HR 8C.
Newspaper Club
Want to help create the Washington Globe student newspaper? Newspaper Club is fun because you get to research topics that interest you, either about school or about the world, and write stories about them for everyone to enjoy. You get to interview teachers, administrators, or coaches. If writing isn’t for you, you still might enjoy this club and help with editing and using Publisher to design the layout of the newspaper. For more information come see Mrs. Stolfi in HR 6B or Mrs. Reiss in HR 3B.
Minecraft Club
Want to play video games and have some educational fun? In Minecraft Club you can show off your creative skills and create magnificent structures in Creative Mode. Some gamers who like a challenge may enjoy battling in Survival Mode or in Hardcore Mode, where you only get one life. See Mr. Beach in HR 6D for more about this club.
Drama Club
Do you enjoy singing, dancing, acting and performing? To be in this club you must audition for the annual school play. Students who do not wish to act can also become involved in this club by helping with costume and set design, as be a part of the stage crew. For more information come see Mrs. Mendes or Mrs. Kwiczor in the music department.
Broadcast Club
If you like being on camera, using technology and letting the rest of the school know what is going on, come check out the broadcast club. Students in this club can go behind the scenes and learn about television production. For more information come see Mrs. Mendes in music or Ms. Manning in media.
National Junior Honor Society
NJHS is a club by application only. This club is only for students who pass an interview, can meet high academic standards and can earn 10 community service hours. At the end the school year the students who have met these requirements are honored in a special ceremony. For more information, see Mr. Langlois HR 4C, Mrs. Mulligan HR 4D, or Mrs. Kurys HR 4A.
Looking for something fun to do after school and also become involved with the WMS community? Here are some of our school’s club offerings, most are open for anyone to join, though keep in mind some clubs require an application.
Yearbook Club
If you like reminiscing about the school year by looking through the yearbook, why not take part in making it? If you join the Yearbook Club, you will work to design and create the WMS yearbook. From picking out fonts, to page layout, there are a lot of steps to creating the yearbook. If this is something you are interested in, come check it out! This club is advised by Mrs. Baransky HR 8E.
Builders Club
Builders Club helps out the community. If you love to give a helping hand and give back to your community, Builders Club is definitely for you. They organize food drives, collect pet supplies to donate to the Meriden Humane Society, and help the Meriden community in many ways. For more information, see Mrs. McBride in HR 2E or Mrs. M. Moore in HR 3A or come to one of our meetings. Anyone is welcome at any time.
Student Council
For those of you who have been to a school dance and would like to take part in planning a dance or other school activities, come check out Student Council. Student Council does a lot more though. In the past, they have sold carnations for Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day. This year they organized a movie night, for FREE even. The students had a great time watching The Maze Runner. For more information see Mr. Langlois HR 4C, Mrs. Flanagan HR 3C, or Mrs. Vollono HR 8C.
Newspaper Club
Want to help create the Washington Globe student newspaper? Newspaper Club is fun because you get to research topics that interest you, either about school or about the world, and write stories about them for everyone to enjoy. You get to interview teachers, administrators, or coaches. If writing isn’t for you, you still might enjoy this club and help with editing and using Publisher to design the layout of the newspaper. For more information come see Mrs. Stolfi in HR 6B or Mrs. Reiss in HR 3B.
Minecraft Club
Want to play video games and have some educational fun? In Minecraft Club you can show off your creative skills and create magnificent structures in Creative Mode. Some gamers who like a challenge may enjoy battling in Survival Mode or in Hardcore Mode, where you only get one life. See Mr. Beach in HR 6D for more about this club.
Drama Club
Do you enjoy singing, dancing, acting and performing? To be in this club you must audition for the annual school play. Students who do not wish to act can also become involved in this club by helping with costume and set design, as be a part of the stage crew. For more information come see Mrs. Mendes or Mrs. Kwiczor in the music department.
Broadcast Club
If you like being on camera, using technology and letting the rest of the school know what is going on, come check out the broadcast club. Students in this club can go behind the scenes and learn about television production. For more information come see Mrs. Mendes in music or Ms. Manning in media.
National Junior Honor Society
NJHS is a club by application only. This club is only for students who pass an interview, can meet high academic standards and can earn 10 community service hours. At the end the school year the students who have met these requirements are honored in a special ceremony. For more information, see Mr. Langlois HR 4C, Mrs. Mulligan HR 4D, or Mrs. Kurys HR 4A.
We've got spirit! Meriden Raiders Cheerleading
By Isabelle Smith and Avery Smith (Edited by Carriana Sperry)
The Meriden Raiders cheerleading is a cheer squad for the local Meriden Raiders football team. Along with cheering for the football teams, the squad also competes in competitions. There are four different squads which are grouped by age. The levels are 14U, 12U, 10U & 8U. We are cheerleaders on the squad called 10U, this stands for ages 10 and under.
To become a Meriden Raiders cheerleader all you have to do is register. The squad is open to both males and females. Any interested person should be able to do a cartwheel, a forward and a backward roll, as well as a round off, said Shontai Cross, a 7th student at Edison Middle School and a member of the 14U squad. The squad's practice nearly every day and it is a large time commitment. The squad shows off its cheers at all the local Meriden Raiders football games held Falcon Field, right behind Washington Middle School.
The squad also participates in competitions. Cross says, “I like competing and being able to travel with my friends from cheer. I like the bond and how my friends from cheer are like my second family. My favorite cheer is Raiders Beat because it is the first one I learned and is all about the Raiders.”
This year the some of the squads competed in four competitions at the local, regional and national level. The Raiders also held a cheer showcase at Wilcox High School In December. The showcase helped to raise money for squads to travel to compete in a national cheer competition in Florida.
The cheerleaders on the 14U and 12U squads qualified to go to Florida. “A typical competition is awesome!” said Cross. “There are bows, trophies, cheerleaders everywhere--cheer heaven!” This was 12U’s first time going to the competition. Both squads performed well and 14U squad took third place at nationals.
If you are interested in more information about the Raiders squad, check them out on Facebook or you can watch their videos on YouTube.
It's all about volleyball
By Avery Smith and Isabelle Smith (Edited by Garrison Kunst)
This year our girls volleyball team came to play! “Our volleyball team was made up 18 students,” said Mrs. “Coach” Coon, an ELA teacher in Cluster 8. She said that volleyball is an important sport at our school because it helps our students show school spirit.
The sport of volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in 1895 and was called Mintonette. The sport was created for older members of the YMCA. The style was first demonstrated in Philadelphia in 1916. It was a mixture of baseball, tennis, basketball and handball. Morgan took the idea of using a net that was similar to tennis, but raised it 6 feet by 6 inches tall. Later, volleyball became an internationally recognized professional sport. The sports first appearance in the Olympics in 1964 and the sport has been increasing in popularity ever since.
Washington’s volleyball team has many local rivals, according to Coach Coon, our school plays against, cross-town rival Lincoln, and other local schools from North Branford, Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington. The team practices two to three days a week, said Coach Coon.
In order to remain injury free the girls wear, knee and elbow pads. The essential skills required to play volleyball, according to Coach Coon are to master the moves known as, "bump, spike and set”. If you can do these well, then you will be successful in the sport, she said. Coach Coon said that there are many reason why she enjoys coaching volleyball however, she said the main reason is to watch the girls improve and to teach them new skills.
The varsity and junior varsity squad members are Laila Martinez, Brooke Lathe, Alexis Sciola, Annika Manke, Lauren Matias, Lizzy Barton, Abigail Lespier, Haley Lespier, Natalie Camera, Kayla Winslow, Samantha Meyer, Milytza Perez, Gracey Massicotte, Rory Cassidy, Kasey Freeman, Stefanie Szawerda, Madison LaValle, and Savannah Bernabucci.
This year our girls volleyball team came to play! “Our volleyball team was made up 18 students,” said Mrs. “Coach” Coon, an ELA teacher in Cluster 8. She said that volleyball is an important sport at our school because it helps our students show school spirit.
The sport of volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in 1895 and was called Mintonette. The sport was created for older members of the YMCA. The style was first demonstrated in Philadelphia in 1916. It was a mixture of baseball, tennis, basketball and handball. Morgan took the idea of using a net that was similar to tennis, but raised it 6 feet by 6 inches tall. Later, volleyball became an internationally recognized professional sport. The sports first appearance in the Olympics in 1964 and the sport has been increasing in popularity ever since.
Washington’s volleyball team has many local rivals, according to Coach Coon, our school plays against, cross-town rival Lincoln, and other local schools from North Branford, Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington. The team practices two to three days a week, said Coach Coon.
In order to remain injury free the girls wear, knee and elbow pads. The essential skills required to play volleyball, according to Coach Coon are to master the moves known as, "bump, spike and set”. If you can do these well, then you will be successful in the sport, she said. Coach Coon said that there are many reason why she enjoys coaching volleyball however, she said the main reason is to watch the girls improve and to teach them new skills.
The varsity and junior varsity squad members are Laila Martinez, Brooke Lathe, Alexis Sciola, Annika Manke, Lauren Matias, Lizzy Barton, Abigail Lespier, Haley Lespier, Natalie Camera, Kayla Winslow, Samantha Meyer, Milytza Perez, Gracey Massicotte, Rory Cassidy, Kasey Freeman, Stefanie Szawerda, Madison LaValle, and Savannah Bernabucci.