Clubs and Societies

‘Students who participate in high school activity programs have better educational outcomes, including higher grades, higher achievement test scores, and higher educational expectations beyond high school.’ – National Federation of State High School Associations

To promote, enhance and enrich the academic culture of the school, one of the major roles of the Academic Co-captains, Enda Han and Tim Le, is to encourage a rich culture of student-led clubs and societies, which meet weekly and are supported by staff who may have similar interests or are willing to offer their time to support student leaders in the running of a club.

Such clubs and societies allow students to develop their interests and passions and to share these with like-minded peers. Students have fun and enjoy learning from each other. This experience can assist in their development as independent learners and allow them to experiment with a subject or potential career path within the safe environment of the school.

Currently there are seven clubs operating and as the year progresses students have the opportunity to start others too. In this article, the student leaders of these clubs provide an insight into what their respective clubs are about, what motivated them and what they hope to achieve.

BARBZ (Boys and Ruyton Beats Zociety) Club

Our aim is simple: to ensure every person who attends a meeting will leave feeling just little bit better. And before you ask, yes, Zociety is with a ‘Z’, because we aren’t like any of Trinity’s other clubs. We hold having fun as utmost importance. We strive to achieve this by cultivating a relaxed environment that allows our members to take their minds off the stresses of school life and spend time with their friends. Over the course of many meetings, we have been engaged with many styles of dance and music, as diverse as K-Pop and R&B.

Alvin Doan, James Fox and Ben Zhou (Year 12)

Student convenors of BARBZ

Chess

The Chess Club aims to get students loving chess, being enthusiastic about improving their game and competing in competitions. We want students and even staff of all abilities to feel welcome to come and challenge themselves. Chess player Aleksei Khamatgaleev, who has played at the highest level, coaches our members on a weekly basis. We have also started a TGS tournament, and we look forward to challenging ourselves in the Victorian schools competitions. By being part of this Chess Club, we aim to improve our logical thinking, creativity, problem solving and collaboration with other students.

Matthew Lo (Year 9)

Student convenor of Chess Club

Coding Club

The Coding Club allows inquisitive students to explore computational avenues of academia. We aim to develop students’ skills in algorithmic thinking such that they might find imaginative solutions to problems that are often too large to solve by hand, and to provide an environment for students to develop their experience in programming. Every year, we work towards partaking in prestigious competitions such as the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition, the Oxford University Coding Challenge as well as the Australian Informatics Olympiad. At Coding Club, creativity is encouraged as the club also acts as a forum for those seeking programming help within their own personal projects.

Winston Zhang (Year 12)

Student convenor of Coding Club

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Club

Dungeons and Dragons is a story-telling game whereby students create characters, take part in adventures and grow and cooperate with others. Through strategy, teamwork and a little luck from the ‘Dice-Gods’, students will see their characters grow both as individuals and as part of a team, ready to tackle more challenging hurdles and enemies. The Dungeons and Dragons Club enables students to create and run their own adventures. It provides a fun and exciting environment for newcomers and experienced players alike through shared roleplaying game experiences!

Fergus Warren Smith (Year 10)

Student convenor of the Dungeons and Dragons Club

STEM Club

STEM Club exists for the purpose of propagating the importance of scientific pursuit among its student participants. The club’s leaders seek to fashion an ambience à la the Socratic classroom: a place of open discussion, encouraging students to create and validate hypotheses in a constructive environment, among friends and cross-age peers.

Victor Li and Cale Martin (Year 12) Student convenors of the STEM Club

Trinity’s Academic Society of Astronomy (TASA)

William McDougall (Year 9) Student Convenor of TASA

F1 Appreciation Society

Through the F1 Club, passions have been strengthened and, in some cases, realised. Each week, we spend time together appreciating classic races and classic drivers such as Michael Schumacher and Pastor Maldonado. We grieved the loss of Ayrton Senna, Jules Bianchi, and Antoine Hubert. We basked in the glory of Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll. The F1 Appreciation Society is not just a club but a way of life. Each member is handed the commentary transcript of the last lap of Abu Dhabi 2021 – this is the holy scripture of the F1 Appreciation Society. Watching the sport, learning about the sport, and appreciating the sport of F1 are all components of our great club.

Dex Kelly (Year 12)

Student convenor of the F1 Appreciation Society

In the first term of this year, TASA meetings consisted of presentations on astronomy topics, including extra-terrestrial life and the universe. Recently, we joined the Australian Space Design Competition (ASDC), for which we are required to plan and design a settlement on a foreign celestial body. We have selected Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest in the Solar System, as the location for our settlement.

By doing presentations and competitions, we hope to educate more students about astronomy, an interesting-yet-underappreciated branch of science.

These clubs and societies are just a snapshot of the type of student-led programs and opportunities on offer at Trinity. Students can also pursue their interests and develop their talents through their involvement in activities such as Harambee, debating, House, drama, outdoor education, music, sport and student leadership programs, as well as the plethora of academic subject competitions and enrichment programs which are also based on students' interests and strengths.

Angela Kotsiras

Academic Extension and Enrichment Programs Coordinator