On Thursday, September 15th, Mount Greylock Regional School held its annual club fair. Every year, a few weeks after the start of school, all of the Mount Greylock clubs set up a booth during lunch so that students can sign up for different extracurricular activities. A number of new clubs were present at this year’s fair, offering new opportunities for the students of Mount Greylock.
The newly established Film Club, advised by English teacher Blair Dils, is being led by Senior Olivia McKeon. She said, “I’ve always loved film, and I thought it would be fun to have a club where people can watch and discuss and get to know more classic films and contemporary films.”
The basic structure of the film club is to meet bimonthly to discuss two films the members have been assigned to watch. McKeon said they would try to hold some “screening” nights where the members will watch the film together after school, but otherwise the viewing aspect will be independent.
Each meeting will center around the comparison of two films: one contemporary and one classic. The first movies will likely be Get Out and Psycho. The club will provide opportunities for its members to come together and talk about the two films in contrast, as well as the broader concept of film.
“I think films are really important because not only are they a great comment on politics or society, but they’re so beautiful, and as an art form I think they’re a great way to have discussions and bring up topics that might not have been brought up otherwise,” said McKeon. “It’s a visual form, so I think in a way it’s almost more impactful than a book because it reaches a wider audience.”
Another club new to Mount Greylock is the American Sign Language Club, spearheaded by Junior Celina Savage. The goal of the club, said Savage, is to reach a basic level of communication in sign language.
Savage said, “I feel like it’s a very valuable skill to have in life, and it’s something that our community, and any community, is in desperate need to have.”
The club currently has twenty members. The best case scenario, she said, would be to incorporate it into the school curriculum somehow, “but because that’s a huge project, actually just having a resource for students to learn it right now is really important.”
Another new club at the school is Chess Club, though it’s been around for slightly longer than the Film and Sign Language clubs. The chess club was created a little under a year ago, and has continued to be active this school year.
The Chess Club meets every Thursday, where its members get together and play chess. Junior Zeke Singer, a member of the chess club, said “We were supposed to go to a tournament last year but didn’t get the chance.” He hopes more opportunities will arise this year for the club.
These extracurricular activities provide outlets for students outside of the purely academic setting. The clubs promote student engagement and leadership opportunities by establishing relationships and building a base for Mount Greylock’s school community.
