Roxbury High School offers over 30 different clubs open to any student who wants to participate. These clubs range from audition choirs to Bowling Club. If you are looking for something to do after school but you aren’t sure what would be best for you, this article will help you make that decision. While you may be worried that it is too late to join clubs and that you may have missed an opportunity, for many of these clubs, it isn’t too late! Whether you are interested in academic clubs, choir and band, or anything else, chances are Roxbury offers it!

Political, Academic, and Some Athletics

If you are looking for something academic or political to do after school. Roxbury offers a lot! Some of these clubs include Junior Statesmen of America which is run by Mr. Connolly and Mrs. Connolly, Academic Decathlon run by Mr. McPhee, and the Equal Rights Advocacy Club with Mrs. Connolly. Mrs. Connolly explained the purpose of this club by saying, “The Equal Rights Advocacy Club (ERA) is open to all students who are interested in discussing issues of inequality and actively advocating for the just and fair treatment of all people. Our next few meetings are Nov. 12 & 26, and Dec. 10 in O233 at 2:15 pm.”  Another interesting club available here is Debate. If you love to argue, this club run by Mr. Connolly would be perfect for you! Mr. McPhee also runs Model UN and Model Congress. Whether you are taking a language at the high school or not, the school offers clubs for French and Spanish, along with an honors society for language. Spanish Club is run by Mr. Cantwell and Ms. Navarro and Spanish Honor Society is run by Mrs. Bedoya. Mr. Cantwell described Spanish Club with the following quote, “Spanish Club here at the high school gives students an opportunity to experience aspects of Hispanic culture outside of the classroom.  For example, we take a trip to a restaurant that serves Hispanic food, so students get to actually eat the vocabulary words. We go to a soccer game, so students get to see why soccer is so popular in Hispanic countries. So, the club makes the culture lessons from class more real.” Roxbury also offers Multicultural Club run my Ms. Sferra and it is an amazing way to learn about and embrace other cultures. Roxbury High School is run by the school board and the administrators but you as a student still have a say with Student Council. If you are a part of the Student Council, whether you join General Student Council or just your class’s council, you get to help make decisions in the school. Another academic club you might want to consider is Junior Statesmen of America run by Mr. Connolly and Mrs. Connolly. Mr. Shadwell and Ms. Mainero run DECA which stands for Distributive Education Cooperative of America. “DECA is a business club that helps its members become leaders in the fields of Marketing, Finance, Hospitality, and Management. Students can take part in competitions that help build their business skills while collaborating with their peers.” If you are interested in skiing or snowboarding whether you are good at it or have never tried before, Mr. Gibson and Ms. Demova run the ski/snowboarding club. Lighthouse Bible Study is advised by Mr. Mulderrig and is open to anyone who would like to learn more about the Bible. Prism is run by Mrs. Kenny and Mrs. Belfiore and is our school’s Gay-Straight Alliance and is welcoming to anyone in the LGBTQ+ community or allies of the community. SEAs which stands for Student Empowerment and Advocacy is run by Ms. McGinley and Ms. Hancock and is meant to educate about learning difficulties.

Writing, Art, and More!

If you are more interested in writing or artistic clubs, the high school also offers Literary Magazine, The Roxbury review, Yearbook club, Art club, Film club, and Gaelvision. Ms. Rispoli runs the Literary Magazine and she said the following to describe it, “The Literary Magazine at Roxbury High School promotes writers and their writing. The club meets every other Wednesday after school in O238. Students represent the best of Roxbury – a diverse mixture of students who support and encourage each other as they work through their own creatively-inspired works. There is no official writing requirement as many students come to the club to listen and support others, though of those who start that way most finish as writers who want to share their ideas, too. The year ends with a professionally published magazine, a compilation of student work that showcases the bravery and camaraderie of Roxbury High School’s writers.” Ms. Tartarilla runs The Roxbury Review which is the school’s newspaper that you can read on roxburyreview.com. Ms. Tartarilla explained the purpose of the club. “The Roxbury Review, our school newspaper, is a great opportunity for student writers & artists to express themselves and showcase their journalistic writing skills. We are fortunate enough to have some amazing students working for us, so check out their work on our website! You never know when you’ll be featured!” Gaelvision is described by Ms. Caivano, one of the club’s advisors, with the following: “Roxbury High School Gaelvision is a student-produced program highlighting stories happening in the school and community of Roxbury Township, NJ.  Students take photos, videos, and live stream events that are posted on our various social media platforms.” You can find Gaelvision @Roxbury High School Gaelvision on Facebook, @Roxburygaelvision on Instagram, @gaelvision on Twitter, Roxbury High School Gaelvision on YouTube, and on Livestream at RoxburyHS. 

Science and Math

In case you are more interested in science, math, or business Roxbury also has plenty of clubs in this category such as Math League run by Ms. McCracken and Ms. McLoughlin. Roxbury has Science League with Mr. O’Brien as the advisor. Mr. Koch advises the sports medicine club and had this to say about it,  “I supervise the sports medicine club which discusses various topics in sports medicine such as injury evaluation, prevention, rehabilitation, nutrition, first aid and emergency care as well as return to play decision making.” FBLA which stands for Future Business Leaders of America is run by Mr. Smarz and Mr. Riches. Another science-inspired club offered at Roxbury is Roxbotix lead by Mr. Tayler and Mr. Brauer. Why do we have a Robotics club you might ask? Mr. Tayler answered this question with this quote, “The Roxbury Robotics Team, also known as ROXBOTIX was founded in 2012 by several ambitious students at Roxbury High School. The team participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) every year and is known in the competition as Team 4361.  The team is open to any Roxbury HS student, no previous experience necessary. Ultimately, the team’s mission is to increase awareness of the need for STEM education in the community by building, competing with, and demonstrating robots. Since its founding, the team has been accomplishing this mission by fielding competitive robots in the FRC’s annual competition as well as performing demonstrations at community events, grammar schools, and the HS. In addition, we strive to live by the FIRST ideals of Gracious Professionalism and Competition.” If you are interested in the environment or environmental science you should join Environmental Club, which is run by Ms. Dunn and Ms. Fagan.

Helping Out Our Community

The high school also offers several clubs for community service such as Rox Thon. Rox-Thon is advised by Mr. Gottfried and Mr. Filoramo, the president of the club is Tori Gonzalez. Mr. Gottfried summarized the goal of the group with the following quote, “This year, mini-THON has transitioned to Rox-THON, in an effort to also support the local community.  Our proceeds will go to Goryeb Children’s Hospital, and a portion of it will support pediatric cancer research and medical bills through Four Diamonds (the non-profit we’ve been partnered with).  Our overnight event will stay the same; the only thing that changes are the recipients of our hard work. We’re excited to see where our new path will take us. Being able to connect with local families will bring this cause closer to home and hopefully have a more meaningful impact on our students and community.” Roxbury also offers Best Buddies, which is advised by Ms. McGinley and Ms. Hancock this club allows students with special needs to develop friendships with other classmates. Unified Bowling Club is run by Ms. Hancock and Ms. Corliss which goes hand in hand with the Best Buddies program. Ms. Corliss described the club by saying, “This year we are proud to be starting Roxbury High School’s Bowling Club that was made possible through a grant funded by SONJ, NJDOE, and the USDOE.  The purpose of the grant is to offer all students an opportunity to actively connect, lead, and contribute through sports and leisure activities. Students in the club will be bowling at Circle Lanes in the winter where they will learn the Baker’s Format for high school competitive bowling. In the spring, they will be playing bocce on campus. Throughout the year, our club will be hosting other fun activities during the school year as well. As part of the grant, students must be involved in youth leadership activities and supporting school community awareness campaigns. Club leaders will be attending a Youth Leadership Summer in late November where they will learn more about student leadership and developing campaigns that support inclusion and acceptance for all.” Another volunteer club is Varsity R, this club is run by Mr. Dolan and Mr. Bischoff and its purpose is for athletes to strengthen their leadership skills and to do community service. Ms. Oster runs the Interact club which is a volunteer club to benefit the school and the Roxbury community. Ms. McCracken, Mr. Beewalder, Ms. Hardy, and Mr. Spargo run Peer-To-Peer which is a select group of Juniors and Seniors to provide a positive influence on underclassmen.

Music

For those of you who are interested in music or acting our school also has quite a few extracurricular activities for you! The Choir program offers many after school audition choirs such as Madrigals which is directed by Mr. Salyards. The choir department also offers two jazz choirs, Revelation directed by Mr. Hachey and Vocal Jazz directed by Mrs. Sweer. In the second half of the year, you have the opportunity to audition for Melodies directed by Mrs. Sweer and Men’s Choir directed by Mr. Salyerds. If you are interested in helping out behind the scenes of choir you can always join Choir Council as a specific role. Choir Council is run by Mr. Hachey. Mr. Hachey described the co-curricular choirs by saying “The Roxbury Vocal Music Department has 5 Co-Curricular choirs throughout the school year.  Madrigals, a 16 voice a cappella ensemble, auditions in September and rehearses throughout the fall to perform at the Winter Concert. Auditions for our two auditioned Jazz Choirs, Vocal Jazz and Roxbury Revelation, will be held on November 4th. These two groups rehearse January – April and perform at the Annual Choir Invitational, Jazz Night, and compete at music festivals. Our final two auditioned choirs, Roxbury Glee Club (a tenor/bass choir) and Roxbury Melodies (a treble choir) audition in December. These ensembles rehearse January-May and perform at the Spring Masterworks Concert and compete at music festivals. In order to audition for any of these choirs, students must be enrolled in one of the curricular choir classes.”

The band department has The Marching Gaels, which is the competition marching band and is directed by Mr. Sweer, They also have the Roxbury Sound, the pep band that plays at football games and is also run by Mr. Sweer. Like Choir, the band department also has two jazz bands,  Jazz Ensemble is directed by Mr. Sweer, and Big Band is directed by Mr. Boccuti. Indoor Percussion is directed by Mr. Kulick and he describes the program as the following, “This program is intended to enhance musicianship and to introduce new students to percussion. Indoor percussion is a high-energy athletic and musical activity that pushes members to achieve their highest possible performance level. This activity is similar to marching band, but does not include wind instruments and is practiced and performed indoors. Roxbury indoor percussion is open to 8-12 grade students in Roxbury public schools who are in good academic standing with the school.” The Choir department runs the Fall Play, which this year is Clue and you can be a part of it next year by auditioning to be in it or as a member of the crew. This year’s Spring Musical is Fiddler On The Roof and you can still audition to be in the cast or sign up to be part of the crew. Here is some important information about the drama department, “Roxbury High School presents two drama productions each year: the Fall Drama and the Spring Play. The Fall Drama auditions happen the first week of school with performances at the beginning of November. This year’s production, Clue On Stage, is being performed at 7pm on Oct 31st and Nov. 1st.  Auditions for this year’s Spring Musical, Fiddler on the Roof, will take place the week of November 18th. These auditions take place in three stages: the general audition (November 18th), the movement audition (November 20th), and the call-back audition (November 22nd.) Audition packets can be picked up in the choir area.  The Fall Play and Spring Musical are open to all Roxbury High School students – you do not need to be enrolled in any curricular Performing Arts class in order to participate.”

As you can see Roxbury has a plethora of extracurricular activities. If you were looking for something to do after school, I’m sure this article has provided some guidance for your decision.