Upper School Clubs

Club Sessions

Fall Session: September 1 – November 7

Winter Session: December 1 – February 20

Spring Session: March 16 – May 15

Winter Club Registration

Winter Club registration is open until Friday, November 21st. Clubs cost $80 for the Winter Session. If you register your scholar for a club that does not meet the minimum of participants or has exceeded the maximum number of members, you will be given a choice between a refund and registering for another club.

Winter Club Offerings

Gallery and Art Practicum

Scholars will assist in creating exhibitions of student work each semester, practicing curatorial and presentation skills. Scholars will learn about art and visual culture, write about artworks, and engage in critique. This year there will be a collaborative printmaking art project, resulting in a club portfolio. Interested scholars will prepare artworks for competition, such as regional VASE (Visual Arts Scholastic Event).

Thursdays, 4-5pm in 118A
Club Sponsor: Ms. Nagle
Grades: 9-12

Chess Club

Scholars will come together to learn the different forms and moves of the noble game of chess! Scholars will play against one another, study historical formations, exercise their minds and hearts, and have the opportunity to compete.

Tuesdays, 4-5pm in 109B
Club Sponsor: Dr. Vendsel
Grades: 6-12

Middle School Drama Club

A community of young artists who are interested in acting and creating. We will gather once a week for an hour to play! We will do theater games, warm-ups, monologues, scenes… a small play?? At the trimester’s end, we will invite family and friends to enjoy what we’ve made!

Mondays, 4-5pm in 115B
Club Sponsor: Mr. Fojut
Grades: 6-8

Hwæt: An Old English Club

Seeking any high school scholars who wish they had even more classes…
An introduction to the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) language and its literature. In this club/class, we will explore:
Basic Old English grammatical concepts
Old English poetical structure and style
Anglo-Saxon culture
The links between modern English and its oldest ancestors.
And, of course, we will be reading passages in Old English!
If you are very well-behaved, quizzes and tests may even be included as a reward.
As an added incentive, scholars who attend regularly throughout the trimester will take turns wearing an Anglo-Saxon helmet during the final meeting.

Mondays, 4-5pm in 237A
Club Sponsor: Mr. Russell
Grades: 8-12

Register for Hwæt: An Old English Club

Hobbit Club

Come listen to the best live reading of The Hobbit you will ever hear, while drinking hot tea and eating tasty snacks. That’s the club!

Thursdays, 4-5pm in Beatrice Library
Club Sponsor: Mr. Fojut
Grades: 6-12

Crochet Club

To create a space for scholars to comfortably relieve stress and foster community through the hobby of crocheting. Scholars will learn the fundamentals of crocheting including the chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, and double crochet. This club is designed for beginners but all are welcome. Scholars typically work on their own independent projects at their own speed. All hooks and yarn will be provided at no cost for scholars.

Tuesdays, 4-5pm in 105B
Club Sponsor: Nurse Volini
Grades: 6-12

Vox Cordis

Vox Cordis is the new chamber choir at Great Hearts Irving MS composed of scholars with the desire and readiness for a more rigorous choral experience. Vox Cordis scholars will participate in the winter and spring concerts, in singing workshops with guest presenters, and by attending classical concerts that assist us in forming our hearts in the virtues of truth, goodness, and beauty through music.

Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4-5pm in room 200A
Club Sponsors: Mr. Fowler & Mrs. Herman
Grade: 6-8

Strategy Club

Do you enjoy thinking several moves ahead? Plotting alliances, betrayals, and glorious victories? Then sign up, soldier, for this is your kind of club. The Strategic Board Games Club is a place for scholars to challenge each other in friendly (but fierce) competition, test their wits, and sharpen their tactical thinking. Each meeting offers the chance to play from a selection of classic strategy games, including Diplomacy, multiple versions of Risk, and Stratego. Whether you prefer slow-burning negotiations or steamroll conquest, there’s a worthy opponent waiting for you.

Thursdays 4-5pm in room 233A
Club Sponsor: Mr. Crawford
Grades: 8-12

Painting Club

For all Da Vinci’s (or curious non-Da Vinci’s)! This art club will provide classical training into timeless techniques used by master painters. We will spend our time observing and painting, learning to truly see and translate the essence of a subject onto canvas. The goal is to provide a strong foundation for formal painting techniques and assist in directing eyes to observe surfaces closer; learning how to indicate, appreciate, and create beauty. Join us in this journey and gain a timeless skill!

Tuesdays, 4-5pm in room 208A
Club Sponsor: Ms. Harris
Grades: 8-12

Spirit Line

The Spirit Line is a new club that will cheer on our various athletic teams at sports games. Our main actions will be holding signs, chanting cheers, and hyping up the crowd. (Note: We will not be performing dance routines or acrobatics. So, there are no skills necessary to join, nor will we have tryouts.)

Mondays, 4-5pm in room 203A
Club Sponsor: Ms. Seelig
Grades: 6-12

Ignoble Biology Club

A community of curious and passionate nature lovers, who enjoy taking the quiet time to stop and appreciate the intricate beauty in even the smallest parts of nature. We will observe ecosystems, small animals and plants, both indoors and outdoors. Meeting once a week, we will primarily “nature journal” our observations and discuss our discoveries. As well as occasionally read or watch inspiring authors who will also share their observations and discoveries of the natural world. Therefore, if you have the desire to know more about nature, join us!

Thursdays, 4-5pm in room 154A
Club Sponsor: Ms. Federowski
Grades: 6-12

Spikeball Club: The Return

You have heard the tales. It is true. Spikeball has taken over the Upper School. It is your opportunity to be part of this legacy and hone your spiking skills with friends from grades 6th through 9th. No experience is needed! Every session will consist of some basic warm-ups, a review of rules of the game, some drills and free-play. Although a few sets of Spikeball will be provided, scholars are encouraged to purchase and bring their own.

Mondays, 4-5pm on the Athena Turf
Club Sponsor: Mr. Egusquiza
Grades: 6-9

Pick Up

All scholars attending clubs should be picked up at the Front Door promptly at 5:00pm. Scholars who are not picked up by 5:15pm will be sent to Homework Club and families will be charged for the time their scholar spends there.

Further Questions?

For questions about Upper School clubs, please reach out to the Assistant Headmaster of Middle School, Celeste Wheelock at celeste.wheelock@greatheartstxschools.org