Woodbridge High School is a very diverse event with a plethora of clubs. This article will be profiling three of our newest.

Gay-Straight Alliance 

Advisor – Ms. Garcia

In Woodbridge High School, we have much diversity among our students with different sexual orientations and identities. With the support of advisor Ms. Garcia, the Gay-Straight Alliance is focused on bettering the relationships of all students regardless of sexual and gender identities.

With the club inactive due to not having an advisor, Ms. Garcia stepped up as she felt every school needed a Gay-Straight Alliance. She hopes that the club can provide a safe space for queer or questioning students, as well as a place for allies to show support. As the club is just starting up again, there are no formal student advisors.

Ms. Garcia’s main focus of the club is creating a celebration for Pride Month in June. Along with that, she hopes to do some fundraising to fund other projects and events throughout the year. Her main goal for this year is to jumpstart the club again and grow community engagement. The GSA is in search of recruiting new members and is attempting to raise awareness of the club.

Since the Pride Party is the most visible and well-known GSA event, Mrs. Garcia is hoping it will build momentum going into the 2024-2025 school year. GSA is a space for anyone who is either in the community or wants to learn more about it. If you are interested in joining the GSA, please see Mrs. Garcia in room 123 during Blocks 2 and 4 for more information.

Digital Art Club

Advisor – Mr. Stadtmiller

Student Advisor – Andrew Jones

Woodbridge High School offers a plethora of different art programs, ranging from sculpting to drawing to even the magnificent powers of the world of digital art. Extracurricular art activities are also very prominent throughout the school, with one of the newest additions being that of the Digital Art Club, advised by Mr. Stadtmiller and student advisor Andrew Jones. This club allows students to creativly produce projects in the astounding world of digital art.

While this club is fairly new, the Digital Art Club has already had a positive impact on creative students. It allows them to come to a place where they can let their creativity shine. While attending this club, students learn from one another by using programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Stadtmiller stated, “our aim for the Digital Art Club is to foster creativity and digital skills in students by immersing them in hands-on experiences with digital art methods and software.”

Future plans are to ask other clubs and classes if they have any digital art needs. For example, logos or designs for said clubs or classes.. This would lead to a positive effect on the Woodbridge community as a whole. 

With the support of the advisors, this club is amazing for anyone with interests in digital art. Some will use it as starting point to learn the ways of digital art. Meanwhile, already advanced students looking to assist their school and fellow students through designs.

Debate Club

Advisor – Dr. Papageorgiou

Student Advisors – Leeana Lucas, Andrew Jones, Duff Reagan, Angelise Benimadho

One of the most useful skills in life is being able to raise a question and have the support to back it up. In Woodbridge High School, we accomplished making this skill accessible to the students through the Debate Club. Debate Club is advised by Dr. Papageorgiou along with student advisors Leeana Lucas, Andrew Jones, Duff Regan, and Angelise Benimadho.

The Debate Club has a positive impact on the students of Woodbridge High School’s achievements and self-esteem. By participating in this club, students develop better overall communication skills and engage in higher-level critical thinking skills, which is essential for their future success in any future endeavor they choose to pursue. Some professions that this skill is most prominently used in include, but are not limited to Patient Advocates, Lawyers, Salespersons, and Journalists.

According to Dr. Papageorgiou, “our ultimate goal is to engage other NJ High Schools in formal Debate Competitions. We are working towards this goal by currently engaging in activities during meetings, which will prepare our Club to effectively engage in formalized Debate Competitions.”

Future plans include continuing to organize formal debates between Debate Club members at future meetings and to join the NJ Debate & Speech League. This would allow WHS to face off in formalized debates with other high schools across the state of New Jersey. 

With the continued support of Dr. P, all the student advisors, and the attendees, this club is great for anyone interested in developing leadership skills and communication skills.

Conclusion

In conclusion, plenty of new clubs have come to Woodbridge High.