School Clubs

SAAS CLUBS

Clubs are one of the many ways students at Seattle Academy get involved outside of the classroom. For many, our club program is a place where they can share their passions and dive into a particular interest. For many others, our club program simply provides a space where they can create new bonds and be a part of something. That “being a part of something” is one of many stepping stones towards students feeling confident, willing to try new things, and willing to take risks—things we believe are essential to students growing, learning, and becoming the best versions of themselves.

In any given year, SAAS will offer between forty and fifty clubs for students to join. Our approach to clubs is that they must be student-organized. Clubs range from informal and internal-facing, to external projects and partnerships with national organizations. The hope is that there is something for every student. And if there is not, propose it! Any student can start a club by submitting a proposal and finding a faculty advisor to work with them.

The following are profiles of two new clubs that were added for the 2019–2020 school year.

Latinx Club

Middle School Advisor: Kenzie Rosengreen

Vivian Spinner ’26 started the Latinx Club at SAAS. Vivian wanted to create a space for students to gather with the goal of learning about Latinx culture and celebrating Latinx traditions. The club is open to all. Typically, each meeting starts with a mini-lesson about a topic and is followed by an activity (craft, movie, game) and food. At our last club meeting, students learned about the history of pinatas before decorating them and trying Mexican candy. For Day of the Dead, students learned the purpose and history behind the Mexican holiday. After learning about the holiday, students watched the movie CoCo and ate Day of the Dead bread. Other activities included making Guatemalan worry dolls and playing various games.

SAAStastic CyberPatriot Club

Upper School Advisor: Ernie Drumm

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future. The SAAStastic CyberPatriot cybersecurity team consists of Lex Capestany ’22, Kavi Dey ’22, Emily Myint ’22, Adam Olsen ’22, and Amavi Santos ’22. With over four thousand teams competing in six divisions, the SAAS team competed in two preliminary rounds to place them in the Gold Division with over eleven hundred other teams, and they ultimately finished in third place in the Washington State competition of the National Youth Cyber Education Program.

While some clubs come and go due to student interest, there are those that become firmly established as part of the school culture.

Community Engagement Organization Upper School Advisor: Rick DuPree

Community Engagement Organization (CEO) is a studentrun club that leads service learning efforts at Seattle Academy and has been doing so for almost two decades. CEO offers students weekly, monthly, and annual oppor- tunities to become involved with organizations in the Seattle community that work to advance causes, ranging from social justice to environmental justice, and animal welfare to educational inequity. The group’s mission is to encourage students to build meaningful relationships in their community and to empower students in their ability to create change. They value intellectual curiosity, creativity, informed activism, and service rooted in learning.

The group hopes that service learning opportunities will enable students to gain deeper insight into not only their community and world’s needs, but also into their own passions. Ultimately, they want students to understand that their actions count. The group encourages their peers to take a risk, get out into the community where they can practice questioning, imagining, creating, and contributing boldly to a changing world.

Futsal Club

Middle and Upper School Advisor: Brooks Hopp ’08

The Futsal Club was started in 2017 by Kaleabe Abebe ’18, Angelo Calfo ’18, Bafode Drame ’20, Sally Menti ’20, Gage Raftery ’19, and Adrian Valentine ’19. The club grew in response to kids who loved soccer but who didn’t have an available field to play. They wanted to start a club to bring the love of soccer into a fun and friendly indoor game shared with students of all grade levels and backgrounds. The players wanted to meet new students, get to know them better, and connect with each other through sports. The club has grown to over sixty students with an average attendance in the mid-twenties on any given day.