KODA MIDDLE SCHOOL

 CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES 2011 - 2012

KODA CLUBS

KODA CRITTER CLUB

 KODA CRITTER CLUB

Advisor: Miss Mattesen & Mrs. Maher

mattelle@shenet.org or maheshan@shenet.org

 Our motto is “Helping people help animals.”  The club is open to all KODA students and we begin meeting in the late fall on dates to be announced.  We invite all animal lovers.  Activities include guest speakers including a wildlife rehabilitator and a greyhound rescue group.  We do a walk for the animals sponsored by the group H.O.P.E. (Homes for Orphaned Pets Exist), and make up special gift boxes for the various animal shelters.  We also have “pet days” when members bring in their very own special “critters” and so much more!

JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Advisor: Mr. Silvagnoli

silvmich@shenet.org

 The Koda Jazz Ensemble is an extracurricular playing ensemble that is open to all 7^th and 8^th grade trumpet, trombone, saxophone, drums, guitar and piano students by audition.  The Jazz Ensemble will meet one to two times per week and will begin the last week in September and run through the first week in June.  Performances will include the MS Jazz Festival, the annual Koda Jazz Luncheon, Shen Jazz Festival, Koda Café, and the 8^th grade Moving Up Ceremony.  Any questions or concerns can be forwarded to Mr. Silvagnoli, 7^th grade Band Director at silvmich@shenet.org or 881-0470 ext. 54478.

KODA KRUISERS

Advisors:  Mrs. Nicholls

nichjenn@shenet.org

 Koda Kruisers is a walking club open to all Koda students.  The group meets near the FACS rooms on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:35.  After a mile walk and a healthy snack, students may take the late bus home.  Students keep a log of miles walked and are encouraged to better their times and/or increase the distance walked.  Students must turn in a contract to walk.

                KODA KTV                   

Advisors:  Mrs. Cummings/Mr. Valente

cummcoll@shenet.org/valebria@shenet.org

KTV is a multi-media presentation club that provides accurate and current information to the students and staff of Koda Middle School.  Students report on events through Power Point presentations and live broadcasts over our video network at Koda.  All 7^th and 8^th grade Koda students are welcome and we meet every morning from 8:00 to

8:40 a.m.

KODA NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY

Advisors:  Mrs. Fear & Mrs. Gray

feartara@shenet.org/graycind@shenet.org

 National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is a prestigious club honoring students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, character, and citizenship.  After the first semester of 7^th grade, 7^th grade students who have achieved an average of 90% or higher for the first year and a half of middle school will be invited to apply.  Students will be selected through an application process.  All students who are selected for the club will be inducted in the spring of their 7^th grade year and will be members of NJHS throughout their 8^th grade year.  While in the club, students will have an opportunity to participate in service projects both in the school and the community.

KODA READING BUDDIES

Advisors:  Mrs. Psomas and Mrs. Diamond

psombonn@shenet.org/diamjoel@shenet.org

 Reading Buddies is open to all 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade Koda students.  We meet Friday mornings 8:00 – 8:40 a.m.  As a group we walk over to Orenda Elementary School to read to kindergarteners.  The middle school students learn how to work with young children and choose books for emergent readers.  They are also practicing their oral reading skills.  It is a great opportunity and experience for all involved.  Students can join at any time throughout the year.

KODA SKI CLUB

Advisors: Mr. Mruz & Mrs. Vadney

vadnclai@shenet.org/mruzdoug@shenet.org

 The Koda Ski Club will travel to West Mountain for six ski trips during the months of January and February.  The sign up is in early October.  Students will learn the details at an informational meeting (date to be determined).  All Koda students may join and the price will be determined by packet based pricing.

KODA STUDENT COUNCIL

Advisors:  Mrs. Vadney & Mr.Mruz

vadnclai@shenet.org/mruzdoug@shenet.org

The Koda Student Council is a student elected club.  The homeroom representative elections are held in September and are open to all who have completed the nomination petition.  Throughout the school year, the Student Council is involved in community and school activities, such as school dances, car washes, and collecting holiday gifts.  Students are elected by their peers and meet on alternate Friday morning from 8:00

to 8:40 a.m.

YEARBOOK CLUB

Advisors: Mrs. Cisler, Mrs. Maher, Miss Mattesen,

cislmaryshenet.org/maheshan@shenet.org/mattelle@shenet.org

 Koda students help in the creation of the Koda yearbook.  They will pick the cover, take photos, and choose and arrange the layout.  Students are also involved in making posters to advertise the sale of the yearbook.  They help with the distribution in June.  The meetings are held as announced.

TRI-BUILDING CLUBS

 TRI-BUILDING ADVENTURE CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mr. Anderson, Ms. Brozio, Mr. Green

andechri@shenet.org /brozkris@shenet.org /greeal@shenet.org

 Adventure Club meets beginning in October through May on Wednesday mornings from 8:00 am to 8:45 am.  The club is made up of interested 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders in Gowana, Koda and Acadia, and meets in the Koda Adaptive Gym. Through non-competitive games, group initiatives and adventure based activities such as experiences on a high ropes challenge course and expeditions, students will be able to:

·        Understand and value individual differences

·        Improve self concept

·        Learn how to give and receive feedback

·        Learn how to improve team problem solving skills

TRI-BUILDING AMBASSADORS

 ADVISOR:  Mrs. Kenyon

kenyeve@shenet.org

 The Ambassadors are a mixed group of singers, both boys and girls, who perform at school concerts and civic functions for the community.  The Ambassadors have also performed at Lincoln Center in New York City and at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the national group “America Sings”.  The group rehearses on Tuesday afternoons from 3:40 pm to 4:10 pm, and on Thursday mornings from 8:00 am to 8:40 am.   Students in grades 6, 7 & 8 who are members of Middle School chorus, band or orchestra are eligible to audition to become a member of the Ambassadors.

TRI-BUILDING ART CLUB

            ADVISOR:  Mrs. Wheeler             

wheedian@shenet.org

Art Club is an opportunity for students to creatively express themselves in ways that go beyond the projects that are done in art class.  Students who enjoy being creative and working with a variety of materials are encouraged to join.  The projects that will be done in the club are generated by students’ ideas and may include: drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, mural painting, etc.  Art Club is open to 6^th, 7^th & 8^th grade students from Gowana, Acadia and Koda.  Art Club meetings will be held on Monday afternoons from 3:35 to 5:00 PM.  There will be a $25.00 fee to cover material costs.  Parents will have to provide transportation home at 5:00 PM.  Space is limited and will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.  Listen for announcements about club informational meeting times and date.  Hope to see you there!

TRI-BUILDING BEST BUDDIES

Grades 6, 7, 8

ADVISOR:  Ms. DeCerbo, Mrs. Hull, Mrs. Mainwaring

decejenn@shenet.org, hulljess@shenet.org, mainelle@shenet.org

Best Buddies pairs students with disabilities to non-disabled peers in an effort to build friendships.  The club meets once or twice a month on Wednesdays from 3:45 – 4:30.  Members participate in various social activities together.  Members must be able to attend our group functions regularly.  Grades 6-8 welcome.

TRI-BUILDING MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOKSTORE

ADVISOR:  Mrs. Cahill

cahistac@shenet.org

 The Middle School Bookstore is a tri-building club open to any 6^th, 7^th or 8^th grade Shenendehowa Middle School student.  The Bookstore provides an opportunity for students to learn business skills.  It is a rewarding experience, but only reliable students should apply.  The Bookstore is open from 8:30 am to 8:50 am every school day from September through May.

TRI-BUILDING GAK BOWLING CLUB

ADVISORS:  Mrs. Haluska & Mrs. Sprissler

halulean@shenet.org / sprimegh@shenet.org

 GAK Bowling Club is a tri-building club for 6^th, 7^th and 8th grade students who attend Gowana, Acadia and Koda.  All students are welcome:  experienced and inexperienced bowlers. 

Games will be bowled on Wednesdays at Spare Time Bowling Alley.  The cost will be $55, which includes the cost of bowling for six weeks, shoe rental, bus transportation fee, and use of lanes and balls.  Transportation to the bowling alley will be provided by Shenendehowa buses, leaving from Acadia after school.  Students must have a parent/guardian promptly pick them up at 5:15 pm at the alley.  Students will need spending money to purchase snacks at the snack bar.  A pizza party will be provided on the last day of both sessions.  The fall session begins Wednesday, October 12^th and concludes on November 16^th.  Spring session dates will be announced later in the school year.

TRI-BUILDING CHESS CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mr. Soltys

soltloui@shenet.org

 Chess Club is open to all middle school students. The club will choose a weekday morning to meet from 8:00 am to 8:45 am from October to May. Students may ride the early bus in to school or be dropped off by a parent at 8:00 am. The club provides a friendly environment where students can get together and learn the game of chess. From beginners to experts – all are welcome!

TRI-BUILDING DANCE TEAM CLUB

ADVISORS:  Mrs. Shady

shadlind@shenet.org

 Do you love to dance?  Are you interested in improving your skills? 

The Dance Team Club is a spring, tri-building group open to all 8^th grade students interested in learning precision dance techniques in the areas of jazz, hip hop, pom and kick line.  All students are welcome, regardless of previous experience.  Students who do not have a background in dance will have the opportunity to explore dance and learn new skills, while those with previous training will work on improving their technique and learning new moves.  Finally, for those students who may someday be interested in trying out for the Shen Dance Team, this experience will enable you to meet current members of the team, help you to decide if you enjoy precision dance, and provide you with a strong foundation in precision dance skills that will help to prepare you for the tryouts.  Space is limited and will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.  Listen for announcements about club meeting times and dates in early February.  We hope to see you there!

TRI-BUILDING FRENCH CLUB

      ADVISOR:  Madame Cisler

cislmary@shenet.org

 French Club is open to students in grades 6, 7, and 8.  We meet after school in Koda room 807.  We play games to learn and review vocabulary, watch movies in French, do activities and arts and crafts to celebrate holidays, and make French and Canadian recipes to bring into French Club to share with each other.   I hope you will join us!  A bientôt!

TRI-BUILDING FUTURE CITY COMPETITION

ADVISORS: (GOWANA) Mr. Clark clarscot@shenet.org

(KODA) Mr. Sliwinski sliwjose@shenet.org

(ACADIA) Mrs. Wheeler wheedian@shenet.org

Mrs. Betzwieser dbetzw@nycap.rr.com

Future City Competition is a tri-building club. This club is mainly for 7th & 8th grade students; however 6th grade students may help. The members of the team are researching about cities and developing a city. There are three parts to the competition. The first part is to use the Sim City Computer Program to develop a city that has at least a 150 year history, while maintaining certain levels of excellence for its citizens. The second part is to write an essay concerning the theme for this year. This year’s theme is: “Providing a reliable and effective health care product that effectively improves the quality of life and comfort for a patient who is either a senior citizen or has a specific disease, or is suffering from an illness, injury or physical disability.” The third part is to actually build a large model of a section of the city. The competition is held in January. If you are interested in joining the team, see or e-mail the advisors above from your home school. We encourage anyone who likes working on computers, (especially if you have used the Sim City programs), as well as building models, to join us.

TRI-BUILDING GERMAN CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mr. Whalen  

whalrobe@shenet.org

 Grade 7 & 8 German students and interested 6^th grade students

 Middle School Tri-Building German Club meets on Tuesdays each week, after school, in the German Room, 944.  Members must be 7th and 8th Grade German students and interested 6th graders who would like to learn more about German and the German culture.  The goal of the club is to introduce German Culture to students more extensively than we may be able to do in the classroom.  We celebrate German holidays, make foods, arts and crafts, watch movies, play games and learn new words.  Occasionally, we meet with other language clubs for joint activities.  A small fee may be needed to pay for snacks. 

TRI-BUILDING LEGO BUILDING CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mr. Early

earlbenj@shenet.org

 The LEGO Building Club is open to all 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders in Koda, Gowana and Acadia. The LEGO building club is designed to give students a chance to relax and meet new friends while building with LEGOs.  The first four weeks of the club the students can explore the LEGOs the club has available and begin working on some design ideas for the competitions we will have later.  The second four weeks are devoted to students building creations to enter in one of several categories for competition to be judged by the club and by the advisor.  The next four weeks are devoted to exploring the LEGO Mindstorm Robots and their abilities.  Some brief tasks and challenges will be attempted, with an eye towards exposing them to the competition LEGO team that is also available.  This schedule will be run through twice allowing members to come and go with other commitments. 

FIRST Lego League

ADVISORS: Mr. Nagy nagyterr@shenet.org

Mrs. Gavlik gavllaur@shenet.org

Mrs. Betzwieser dbetzw@nycap.rr.com

We build a Lego playing field and then program a Lego vehicle to compete in a regional competition at RPI in December.  We meet in room G930 on Monday afternoons from 3:35 – 5:00 from September until December.

TRI-BUILDING MATH COUNTS

ADVISOR:  Ms. Sprague

sprajenn@shenet.org

Math Counts is a tri-building club for students interested in doing higher level problem solving in mathematics.  The club follows the activities outlined in the National Math Counts program.  It includes problem solving strategies, some enrichment instruction and participation in the local and regional Math Counts competition as well as other competitions.  It is open to 7^th and 8^th grade students.  The first meeting will be Tuesday, October 18th and will be held in Room G26.  Students will meet once a week after school. 

TRI-BUILDING – MATH OLYMPIADS

Grade 6

ADVISOR:  Ms. B. Miller

millbrit@shenet.org

 Math Olympiads is an opportunity for students to engage in creative problem solving activities which develop your ability to reason, to be logical, to be resourceful, and occasionally to be creative!  But most importantly…it’s FUN!!  Students in Math Olympiads compete against students from all over the world in monthly contests.  In June, we celebrate the accomplishments of our “mathletes” with an awards ceremony that recognizes individual students as well as teams of students for their incredible mathematical talents.  Math Olympiads is open to all tri-building 6^th graders and will be meeting Wednesday mornings (before school) in Room A205 starting in October.

TRI-BUILDING MUSICAL THEATER

ADVISORS:  Mrs. Feeny & Mr. Pangburn

feenrebe@shenet.org /pangryan@shenet.org

The Musical Theater is an opportunity for all students interested in performing a Broadway production on the stage.  Students from all 3 buildings and grade levels are selected through an audition process in early December.  Rehearsals will begin in January and continue through until the actual performance of the production March 22, 23, and 24 at 7:30 pm.  Rehearsals occur on various afternoons from 3:45 pm to 5:00 pm.  Students not interested in performing are invited to be part of the production crews.

TRI-BUILDING ODYSSEY OF THE MIND

ADVISORS:  Mr. Sliwinski; Mrs. Betzweiser

sliwjose@shenet.org; dbetzw@nycap.rr.com

 Odyssey of the Mind is a tri-building club.  It encourages the students, on a team of 5-7, to creatively solve one of five problems.  All ideas on how to solve the problem, and the work, must come from the students. The team usually meets once a week after school until 5:00 pm.  Competition occurs locally in early March.  If anyone is interested, e-mail Mr. Sliwinski at sliwjose@shenet.org . He will give you the problems to look at.  Listen to the announcements for our first meeting in October.  We encourage anyone who likes to build, create, and have fun, to join.

TRI-BUILDING INDOOR ROCK CLIMBING

ADVISOR:  Mr. Sergott

sergmich@shenet.org

 Indoor Rock Climbing Club will meet on Monday afternoon from 3:40 pm to 7:00 pm.  The first club session meets from October to December.  The second club session meets from late March to early May.  Each club meets six times and will accept approximately 30 students.  There is a fee of approximately $115. to cover rental of climbing, shoes, harness, lessons, and bus transportation to the Albany Indoor Rock Climbing Gym (AIR).  AIR offers a wide variety of climbs at various ability levels.  AIR is also the only climbing facility in the country to offer a challenging indoor caving complex.  AIR is as close as you can get to REAL rock climbing.  It is a great way to learn to rock climb, or sharpen your existing climbing skills.

TRI-BUILDING ROCKET/ASTRONOMY CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mr. Clark

clarscot@shenet.org

 This is a tri-building club that centers around the exploration of the field of aerospace design and astronomy. Science Club meets on Thursdays after school in Room G18.  Students will be building rockets in the fall and spring.  In the fall they will be using rocket kits, in the spring they will be making custom designs.  All students in grades 6, 7 & 8 are welcome.

TRI-BUILDING SCRAPBOOKING CLUB

Advisors:  Mrs. Diamond and Mrs. Psomas

diamjoel@shenet.org/psombonn@shenet.org

 Scrapbooking Club is open to all 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade Koda, Gowana, and Acadia students.  We meet Tuesday after school until the late bus.  Students can bring in photos from home, and we will work together to complete projects such as calendars, cards, and scrapbook pages.  Experienced scrap bookers or students trying it for the first time are welcome!  Students can join at any time throughout the year.

TRI-BUILDING SEWING CLUB

ADVISOR:  Mrs. Sayers & Mrs. McGrath

sayeclau@shenet.org / mcgrchri@shenet.org

The Tri- Building Sewing Club will meet from 3:35 – 6:00 pm on Wednesdays.  Students will need a ride home.  Meetings begin in October and continue through April.  Students will complete projects by hand as well as with a sewing machine.  Projects will include personal accessories, a simple clothing item and an optional recycled project.

 Since this is a tri-building club students can join with their friends from any MS building.  A fee will be collected for shared supplies and the first project.  Students will be required to purchase fabric for one or two additional projects.

 TRI-BUILDING SPANISH CLUB

GRADES 6-8

ADVISOR:  Mrs. Zusman

zusmlind@shenet.org

 If you are interested in Hispanic culture, traditions, music and languages, this is the club for you!  Students will make crafts, try new foods, watch movies, and play games from ‘el mundo hispano’.  We meet every Tuesday after school in room G-14.  Late bus passes will be provided.

TRI-BUILDING TREBLE CHOIR

ADVISOR: Mrs. Messare

messroby@shenet.org

The Treble Choir is a group selected through an audition process and is for girls only.  It is open to all three grades in all three buildings.  We meet and rehearse once a week after school until 5:00 pm.

TRI-BUILDING INTRAMURALS

ADVISORS:  Various Coaches