BY GRACE MONTGOMERY (‘16)

Language clubs are a way for students to discover the nooks and crannies of a language while at the same time meeting like-minded people. Each club differs in its requirements and activities that it has planned for the year.

Q: Why should people join the club?

Miss Benson (French Club): We are really just a fun, relaxed club. We do whatever the kids want. We do a lot of eating.  We are focused on chaperoned fun things, so there is no parent worry. Our club also doesn’t have attendance policies so its laid back.

Mr. Fisher (Latin Club): Students should join Latin Club  if they have an interest in gaining a better interest on Granville student interaction in the ancient Roman world and the students involved in it. Some people in the club are interested in the ancient world while others are interested in the people who care about the Roman world.

Mrs. Mosquera (Spanish Club): For Spanish Club we accept anyone. SHH, or Spanish Honor Society, you earn the right to it. Even if you are not taking Spanish you can still take Spanish and address your Spanish cultural fix.

What are the benefits of a language club?

Benson: It lets us get together in a more informal way. When they are in class they have to be quiet, but when we are on an outing we just have fun and relax in a more natural way.

Fisher: To gain a better appreciation for the language in which they are learning.

Mosquera: Particularly in a school and community as culturally isolated as Granville, it really gives a vehicle for people to experience other cultures they might otherwise not be exposed to.

Are there requirements to join the club?

Benson:It is $2 a year and you have to be a French student.

Fisher: You have to be in Latin and you have to pay $7. This accounts for the membership in the club and the OJCL (Ohio Junior Classical League)

Mosquera: $3 to join, which supplies part of the fee to get a t shirt, and again you don’t have to be a member of Spanish class you can join

How many people are in the club?

Benson: We have about 80. I think it definitely has to do with the $2 and having the ability to be in the club for the whole year where there is no attendance policy and just a laid back vibe.

Fisher: We have 103 people.

Mosquera: Over 70 people, but about 80 paid their dues.

What activities do you do throughout the year? Any service projects?

Benson: We don’t do any service projects. In the fall we like go to a French restaurant called La Chatelaine as well as pumpkin picking. In November we got to Bon Vie at Easton, and afterwards we see the tree lighting ceremony and parade. The kids go out for a few hours to go Christmas shopping too. In December we sometimes will have a movie night. In the past we have gone to a French cafe, picnics at Wildwood, and the Columbus Museum of Art. When Les Mis came out we went to the movies and saw the play version of it at Weathervane.

Fisher: We are going to have a beat boxing competition, toga car wash, movie night where we watched “Gladiator,” pumpkin palooza festival with the OJCL at Nationwide Children’s hospital where we volunteered to help with family fun activities.We have a blood drive 3 times a year through the Red Cross. We have also have done a food drive for the Licking County Pantry to help families during the holiday’s, as well as we are participating in the Feed the Dream Food Drive on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Right now we are focusing on having a bowling night later this month and the upcoming Latin Convention. Convention is when students from across Ohio that are members of the Ohio Junior Classical League, meet in Columbus to discuss a mutual love for Latin. At Convention there are Latin-based academic competitions, movie nights, and art contests.

Mosquera: As for service we are focusing on donating to the Lou Wood foundation. In the past we have worked with needy families and soup kitchens. Our biggest fundraiser is the chocolate sucker sale, which allows us to pick an organization to donate the money to. Last year the SHH bought a water pump to donate to Heiffer International with the money raised. We also do trick or treat for UNICEF during Halloween. As for social activities we have capture the flag, ice skating, Dia de los Reges trip to Day y noche for SHH. We are thinking of participating in a Spanish film festival too. Right now we are planning the candygrams for Valentine’s day. We are currently trying to sell Mexican hot chocolate, however there is a school board policy that prohibits selling food during the day. As a result our fundraisers have been squelched with a crackdown of this rule so we tried to sell the hot chocolate before school. At the end of the year we have a senior dinner as one of the last things.

Coming up all the clubs are planning the Trilingual party, which is happening on Jan. 20 at 6 at the high school. The three clubs compete against each other to gain bragging rights through the rest of the year. Students participate in games like musical chairs, madgab, floor ping pong and more to win points for their respective team. At the same time there is freed food and games like limbo, twister, etc. for fun.