Clubs and Activities 2011-2012
Ambassador Club:
Who is eligible?..........Selected students based on teacher/staff nominations
Time of year?.............All year
This club is a group of selected students that function as ambassadors at school events that involve the community, visitors, and dignitaries. They provide services for open house, parent conferences as well as other events as the need arises.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Marc Wolfe
Band- Jazz:
Who is eligible?..........All students who qualify by audition
Time of year?.............End of September through end of May
Jazz band is designed for the advanced band students, grades 9-12, who wish to explore different jazz styles. The band uses a traditional big band instrumentation (saxes, trumpets, trombones and rhythm section) and represents the school at competitions, concerts, and community festivals. 2010-2011 Sponsor – Steve Govertsen
Book Club:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
2011-2012 Sponsor – Donna Leahy
Cheerleaders:
Who is eligible?..........Freshman-Juniors
Time of year?.............All year
Cheerleaders promote school spirit by leading cheers at assemblies, games, and meets. They are responsible for encouraging support of the school's athletic teams. Cheerleaders are selected on the basis of skill, school spirit, leadership, interest in sports, disciplinary records, and teacher recommendations. They are required to attend practices during the season and to maintain eligibility as required by the Illinois High School Association. All cheerleaders attend a summer camp. Community High School has cheerleading squads for Varsity and Sophomore football and basketball. 2011-2012 Sponsor – Terri Rohrdanz
Chess Team:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............November through April
The chess team competes in individual meets and tournaments. They also compete in the Illinois High School Association State Tournament in late march.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Joe Splinter
Creative Writing Club :
Who is eligible?...........All students
Time of year?..............All year
The Creative Writing Club can be the home for all different kinds of students at WeGo. We write, perform, read at Open Mic nights, and even participate in workshops at colleges around the state of Illinois. Our mission is to empower students as poets and encourage everyone that he or she is a writer. We host the monthly Open Mic night called Cafe Express YoSelf and host a big production at the end of every year called Show Me Watchu Got. We host poets from Chicago and take field trips too!
2011-2012 Sponsors - Amanda Cordes & Tara Deleon
Dance Production:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............First semester
This class is an audition physical education class first semester that puts on a dance show in January. It continues as a club the second semester and performs and attends various dance events. 2010-2011 Sponsor – Julie Wyller
F.B.L.A. (Future Business Leaders of America):
Who is eligible?..........All students interested in business
Time of year?.............All year
FBLA is designed to promote competent business leadership and increase career awareness. The chapter is involved in the school and community through activities such as the chamber breakfast speaker, youth-in-industry day, and the variety show. FBLA members participate in competitive events at the area, state, and national levels. Events range from business content and computer skills to speaking, presenting, and interviewing. Freshman through seniors are eligible to compete.
2011-2012 Sponsors – Donna Durbin and Mia Wirth
Flag Corps / Color Guard:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?............. Fall-Winter
Tryouts for the flag line are in April of the previous year. Students who try out will be
using flags, poles, and other pieces of equipment. They will march and dance as part of
the high school band. Students who are selected to be part of the group will perform at
every home football game, parade, and various concert venues during the months of July,
August, September, and October, plus any post-season football games. Their last performance is the Marching Showcase at the end of October. If the marching band goes on a trip in winter, spring, or summer, the flag line will be expected to perform also.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Kathy Steere
Foreign Exchanges:
Who is eligible?.......... Foreign language students in a second year of study accompanied by their teacher travel to a foreign country for two or three weeks where they live with families, attend classes at the local high school and go sightseeing and the following year the students from the foreign country come to West Chicago and live with our families. Any student studying a foreign language at CHS may host a student from another country. To qualify to travel to another country, students must be in their second year of language study and have satisfactory academic and behavioral records. Students may also choose to receive ¼ academic credits for participation as a host and/or as a traveler.
Time of year?.............Spain: Travel Spring break / Host September; Costa Rica: Travel /Host January; France: Travel/Host Spring break; Germany: Travel June /Host Spring break.
2011-2012 Sponsors – French Mlle Evans & Mlle Schaefer German - Frau Knecht
Spanish - Prof Junkroski - Costa Rica & Srta. Bellis - España
Green Club:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
Club Green is designed to promote awareness concerning environmental issues. The club is involved in creating recycling programs for the school, community service projects such as cleaning the prairie path, raising money for various charities and encouraging students and teachers to go green. Meetings will be held monthly throughout the school year.
2011-2012 Sponsors Brianne Ferreiro and Suzanne Burchacki
Habitat for Humanity:
Who is eligible?..........All students (Must be 16 to work on a job site)
Time of year?.............All year
Habitat for Humanity is a community service club that is committed to working with individuals of need in order to find them affordable housing. This club engages in several fundraisers throughout the school year in order to make financial donation to our locale DuPage Habitat affiliate as well as Habitat International. In addition to fundraising, we spend a significant amount of time working with professional contractors on local housing projects. Meetings will be held monthly throughout the school year.
2011-2012 Sponsor –Mary Howard
Horticulture Club:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
Horticulture club is designed for students interested in learning how to make various floral arrangements for different occasions and offers all students promotional items, such as: homecoming court silk flowers, mistletoe-grams at Christmas, orchids for Mother's Day, plant sale in the spring, and many horticulture field trips.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Corrie Steiglitz
International Club:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
The international club is an organization made up of students who are interested in conversing with students from different cultural backgrounds. The purpose of International Club is to learn about cultures through exposure to art, enjoying ethnic food and experiencing different ways of life. Within our own community as well as the surrounding areas there are many opportunities to investigate different ethnic groups. Through these experiences we educate ourselves about the diverse world around us. Activities of the club include: Potluck dinner, German Christmas Market, cultural festivals, foreign films and much more!!
2011-2012 Sponsor – Sarah Gill
InterAct:
Who is eligible?..........All student interested in community service activities
Time of year?.............All year
InterAct Club (formerly known as Key Club) is primarily a community service organization, linked to the community in various ways, including our partnership with our local Rotary Club, a service club for adult citizens. InterAct/Key Club sponsors service projects for its members and attempts to motivate and involve the general school population in projects, which are designed to benefit others. These include the annual blood drive, the Humanitarian Service Project, Prairie Path Clean Up, and others. The InterAct/Key Club also sponsors fundraising projects and donates the money to needy charities.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Gavin Engel
Math Team:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
The math team is a group of students who enjoy doing math. They compete in many competitions throughout the year.
2011-2012 Sponsor – TBA
National Honor Society :
Who is eligible?..........Those who have completed six (6) semesters with a "B" average
Time of year?.............Selected in October of the Junior or Senior year
The National Honor Society is an organization that honors high school students for their academic excellence, character, and service to the school. Students are induced into the National Honor Society in the Fall and are recognized at Honors Night and Graduation.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Barb Laimins and Mary Ellen Daneels
Newspaper (The Wildcat Chronicle):
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
The Wildcat Chronicle is the award winning school newspaper that is produced by the students in Journalism Production. As a student publication it reflects the opinions and interests of the students. On the paper students have the opportunity to become editors, reporters, artists, and photographers, while also laying out the paper and distributing it during the school day. Students participate in fundraising in order to attend conferences, and attend meetings outside of the school day in order to create the Chronicle. Students interested in working on The Chronicle must complete Journalism 1 and enroll in Journalism Production.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Laura Kuehn
OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students):
Who is eligible?..........All students interested in Latin American people and culture
Time of year?.............All year
OLAS offers a network of friendship for students of Latin American heritage. We also welcome any students who would like to get to know Latin American teens and better understand their unique cultural perspective! Activities of the club include field trips (Millennium Park, The Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo), sledding, ice skating, volunteer service, and marching in the West Chicago Mexican Independence Day Parade.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Dr. Lucinda Sanders
Pep Club:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
Pep club's main goal is to promote and increase school spirit. To accomplish these goals, pep club plans pep assemblies throughout the year to introduce and support school activities and programs, decorates athletes' lockers, plans Senior Night recognitions, and coordinates spirit activities with student council, the pom squad, and the cheerleaders. One of the major activities of the pep club is to organize and promote Homecoming activities regarding the Homecoming king and queen.
2011-2012 Sponsors – Dave Jennings and Mitch McKenna
Photo Club:
Who is eligible?..........Anyone with a passion for photography
Time of year?.............All year
You will meet twice a month in the photo classroom and darkroom to plan, look at, learn about, talk about, make, and share black and white photos. If you have a manual SLR of your own, great! But any kind of camera will do, even digital.
Besides shooting, developing, and printing pictures, past activities have included fund raisers like Fun Fest, Frosty Fest, and the Art Show and Auction; and amazingly cool trips to downtown Chicago's Art Institute Museum, Columbia College, and Pilsen Arts District. You can join Photo Club at any meeting, but try to make it to our first meeting to see what develops!
2011-2012 Sponsor – Mike Conroy
Pom Pons:
Who is eligible?..........Freshman through Seniors
Time of year?.............All Year
The Poms perform during pre-game and halftime of football and basketball games and during pep assemblies. The squad also competes and attends UDA camps during the summer. Squad members are involved in fund-raising and community service projects. They are required to attend every practice, game, pep-assembly, and community events throughout the year. Members of the Poms Team are selected on the basis of skill, enthusiasm, dedication, and academics.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Meaghan Martin
Scholastic Bowl :
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............Fall-spring
Scholastic Bowl is an academic competition between teams on both varsity and junior varsity levels from different schools. Although all members will have a chance to compete during meets, only five members of each team are allowed to answer questions at a given time. The questions range from math, science, literature, history, and geography to recent events, religion, and technology. Both varsity and junior varsity participate in a tournament at the end of the season, and varsity also competes in regionals.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Nick Caltagirone
Skills U.S.A. (Vocational Education):
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
Any student interested in a skill-oriented class is eligible for this organization. Every spring the students enter a statewide competition in their skill area. The opportunity to compete at the national level is available also. This club sponsors an annual food drive, works football concessions, and helps with market day providing a great opportunity to develop leadership skills and mature socially through various activities.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Brittney Bauer abd Patti Kozlowski
Speech Team:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............Fall and winter
The forensics team gives students an opportunity to perform scenes from plays or movies, interpret literature, and write their own humorous or persuasive speeches. The team competes against other schools in at least ten individual events each year. The team performs for family and friends in the auditorium at the end of January, and compete in IHSA regional, sectional, and state tournaments. Practice begins in September and the state tournament takes place in late February.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Paul Lichy
Student Council:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
The Student Council is composed of representatives from each class, in addition to the class officers, and the Executive Board. The student council plans activities for the student body, publicizes those activities and listens to concerns and suggestions from students. These duties are the responsibility of the activities/spirit committee, community service committee, and the students’ problems committee, respectively. In past years, the student council has organized Homecoming, Dodgeball tournaments and hosted the Junior Prom Student Council has acquired needed equipment and art for the benefit of the entire school. The student council meets every Friday morning. At these meetings students may voice their opinions or concerns and offer suggestions for future events.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Eric Lasky
Snowball:
Who is eligible?.............All students
Time of year?.................Teen Leaders will need to apply by the end of October and will begin meeting the beginning of November. Participants will need to apply by the middle of December and will attend the event in January.
Operation Snowball acts as a drug and alcohol prevention program for youth. The goal of Operation Snowball is to offer a variety of resources on healthy lifestyles, leadership and communication skills, and an opportunity to meet other people in their communities who share the ideals of a drug-free life. Operation Snowball is a weekend retreat/lock-in. During the weekend students will meet peers that are committed to an alcohol, tobacco and other drug free lifestyle. There are also speakers and presentations for people to listen to and interact with. Each student will be a member of a small group that will allow them to process the speakers and presentations as well as get to know their peers. And of course there are plenty of fun activities for everyone to get involved with!
2011-2012 Sponsor – Krysta Schoenbeck & Jared Winquist
Sole Steppers:
Who is eligible?..........All students may tryout
Time of year?.............Winter/Spring
The Sole Steppers are a rhythmic dance group. The steppers combine hip hop, stomping, clapping, and other forms of rhythmic movement into choreographed routines. We perform at competitions in the DVC, take trips to competitions further away, and perform in school pep assemblies.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Amanda Cordes
Thespians:
Who is eligible?..........All students meeting requirements
Time of year?.............All year, initiation in May
Thespians is an honorary drama club. To be eligible, students must work at least two (2) full-length productions here at the school, put in a minimum of 100 hours of theatre work and be involved in more than one aspect of theatre. The club takes one (1) field trip each year to a professionally performed play. Initiation week is the spring highlight featuring a week of informal frolicking.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Mark Begovich
WeGo-Buddies:
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
WeGo-Buddies is a club dedicated to forming one-to-one friendships by matching students with developmental or intellectual disabilities with other high school students. Various activities are held throughout the year to promote meaningful relationships. This is a perfect opportunity to help a student with a disability have a memorable high school experience.
2011-2012 Sponsor – Abby Lynch and Val Cook
Yearbook (Challenge):
Who is eligible?..........All students
Time of year?.............All year
The Challenge is the student yearbook which is edited and published by the students. 2011-2012 Sponsor – Dave Jennings and Lauren Bentel
