Food Drives. Physics Competitions. Bulletin Boards. Those are just some of the Morris Hills clubs’ recent initiatives.  This time of year, clubs and extracurricular activities tend to be the most active, whether that includes participating in competitions or making plans for the future.  

Pride Club

Advised by Mrs. Paulson, teacher of Spanish, and Mrs. Sabatini, teacher of Business, and led by seniors Adam Simpkins and Emily Hao, Pride Club has been active in celebrating various holidays, getting to know club members well, and updating a display board on the first floor history and science wing regularly. The display board has taken on a variety of LGBTQ+ focuses this year; for example, the board was decorated for National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11 and more recently, to celebrate black queer voices during Black History Month

As put by Mrs. Paulson, Pride Club has had a focus on “various projects that explore our history and keep our school informed.” One such project the club has plans for is called “A Day of Silence,” this year on April 13, which seeks to shed light on problems experienced by the LGBTQ+ community daily. The club is also looking forward to visiting the Stonewall Monument in New York this spring.

HOPE Club

Advised by Mrs. Paulson and Mr. Adams, teacher of History, HOPE Club has had an impressive role in supporting Ukraine during the country’s hard times. Several drives, which collected school supplies and safety items, sent donations to both kindergartners in Lviv and Ukrainian soldiers. An October 2022 petting zoo event, hosted by Totes Goats and Farm Chicks, was used to pay for the shipment of the supplies. HOPE Club also used their annual Operation Holiday HOPE Drive to send hundreds of gifts to Funny Bunny Kindergarten in Lviv. String Theory, another Morris Hills club, helped HOPE Club’s Ukraine initiatives by knitting hundreds of hats and scarves for Ukrainians. 

Currently, the club is holding a food drive to support Morris Hills families with food insecurity. Through the drive, students can come home with backpacks filled with food so that, as noted by Mrs. Paulson “our families [can] have less of a struggle in these difficult times.” 

This year, not only has the club upgraded their HOPE garden by adding a hydroponic system — so that there is greater crop yield — but club members also have created a club newsletter, released weekly, that has a focus on positive news. Check out the newsletter at this link: https://sites.google.com/mhrd.org/hopenews/newsletter

ERASE Club 

Advised by Mrs. Ghetti, teacher of science, and led by President Bethany Soto, ERASE has had a focus on celebrating different cultures and people throughout this school year. The club, in October, held an Oktoberfest event to celebrate German heritage, and in December, held a holiday party celebrating cultural holidays from all over the world. Most recently, ERASE put up a bulletin board outside of the library for Black History Month to include images and quotes from famous Black people. According to the Club President, students have the opportunity to “add words or phrases which inspire them” to the bulletin board.

ERASE plans to hold a Valentine’s Day Bake Sale on Feb. 13 and 14, to help fundraise for the club’s Multicultural Dinner, which will happen on March 21, from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. As a schoolwide event, all students are encouraged to attend the Multicultural Dinner!

Modern Physics Club

Advised by Mr. Maloupis, teacher of physics, and led by juniors Prathamesh Trivedi, Rishit Arora, Eashan Iyer, and Reva Mathankar, Modern Physics Club seeks to teach physics traditionally not taught in schools. Modern physics refers to the science established after 1903, the year when Einstein published his theory of relativity. Through presentations on modern physics topics — such as quantum computing, particle physics, and astrophysics — students of any physics background can be part of the club. The club also provides the opportunity for students to make their own presentations on any physics topic that they have an interest in.

Modern Physics Club also has a focus on participating in physics competitions. On an annual basis, the club competes in the NJAAPT Physics Olympics, a competition with 6 different events of fermi estimation and a variety of different engineering challenges. This year, the club placed in first place for the first time in the club’s history. Prathamesh, one of the club’s leaders, is optimistic about the chances of a repeat victory, noting many of the winning team’s members were underclassmen who will return for next school year.

Expanding the club’s focus, club members plan on competing in the National Physics Bowl Competition later this school year, as well as other national physics competitions.

Math Club

Advised by Mrs. Skutnik, teacher of computer science, and led by club president Kevin Chen, Math Club was described by the president as “a very interactive and fun environment,” where members of Math Club seek to share their passion for math by competing in a variety of virtual competitions. Meetings include practice sessions for competitions, which are filled with fun games. 

According to the club president, Math Club has plans to sign up for several competitions, which include the Math Bricks and Purple Comet competitions, among others. The club also is looking to expand the club by increasing membership and meeting regularly.

Ski Club

According to one of Ski Club’s advisers — Mr. Ellis, teacher of History — the club is an “outlet for people to have fun.” Ski Club members go to Camelback Ski Resort in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, 5 times, usually leaving right after school ends at 3:00 pm, and getting back to the school around 10:00 pm. Students ski and snowboard at Camelback, although this year, several excursions to Camelback were halted due to unfavorable weather. 

As per Mr. Ellis, Ski Club is appealing for those who have an interest in learning how to ski or snowboard, because through the club, members get access to discounted season tickets and renting prices that save students a lot of money. 

Knight Writers

Advised by Mr. Diaz, teacher of English, and led by editor-in-chief Miranda Kawiecki, Knight Writers is Morris Hills’ literary magazine, which seeks to “celebrate and support” the school’s writers and artists through a collection of student work published every Spring. 

According to Mr. Diaz, there are two types of members of Knight Writers: those who join the Google Classroom as a contributor of writing and artwork and those who are part of the production part of the physical magazine. So far this year, the club has focused on establishing parameters and expanding club membership, and creating a website to house contributed work. The club also focused on Instagram to increase outreach, as the first year of the year is meant for the gathering of production material for the physical magazine, and the second half of the year is for the gathering of production material for the club website. 

Miranda, the editor-in-chief, adds that Knight Writers has also created hand-painted flyers with QR codes, in addition to “take an idea, write a story” flyers that seek to promote student creativity. Miranda is also responsible for starting “writing sessions” for the members of Knight Writers, where students can have a quiet space to write.

Mr. Diaz started advising Knight Writers 7 years ago, and finds each yearly edition of the magazine “so different” from one another. He encourages anyone with an interest in the magazine to stop by Room 220 for a copy of last year’s edition.

Medical Club

Advised by Dr. Weissensee, teacher of Science and led by board members Karie Shen, Tanvi Mavani, and Neil Agrawal, Medical Club is for all students who have any interest in the medical field, regardless of future plans in college. In monthly meetings, the student-run club, with a student board, organizes a variety of different topics and focuses, such as presentations, hands-on demonstrations, or even rat dissections!

One of Medical Club’s biggest events is its annual Career Night, where the club brings in different people from medical professions via zoom to tell students about their careers and what classes students should take now to prepare them for a medical career. 

Some members of Medical Club also take part in the HOSA (Health Occupation Students of American) competitions, where they are tested on their abilities to perform more hands-on activities, like how to bandage a wrist, or on their knowledge of medical terminology, such as pharmacology. At their most recent local competition, in January, several Medical Club members qualified for the state competition in their respective events.

The staff at the Hilltopper congratulates all our fellow Morris Hills clubs for their successes so far this year, and look forward to hearing about more accomplishments or initiatives in the future!