The Latest on Panther Creek’s Clubs

Overview+of+students+attending+a+club.

Overview of students attending a club.

Katie Hollering, Reporter

Club Overviews

At Panther Creek, there’s a club for almost anything one might be interested in. Most students don’t know what clubs stand for or what they support, so PCNN created an overview of a variety of different groups. We have a club for almost anything you are interested in. For example at Panther Creek, we provide organizations related to languages, business, and government. The majority of clubs are student led giving students much needed leadership experience.

Young Democratic

According to Mr.Volkmar, the Young Democratic Club is intended for students interested in civic responsibilities.  It is a student led organization and encourages anyone interested to attend to find out more. It is intended for progressive minded youth leaders.

Future Health Professional (HOSA)

HOSA is club for people interested in being in the healthcare profession.  For example, people interested in being nurses, dentists, physicians, orthodontist, pharmacists, surgeons, and many more.

Spanish Club

Spanish Club gives students insight into Spanish culture and language by making food such as churros and guacamole, watching Spanish films while enjoying a variety of Hispanic food, and making crafts seen in Hispanic culture. It’s known as a great way to make friends and learn about Hispanic culture, something you can’t experience in a classroom, according to Rachel Head.

Student Council

Mr. Gatlin says, The purpose of Student Council is to bring together elected leaders from all grades in order to give voice and representation to all students to promote the following goals:

1) To serve as a link between students and administration.

2) To encourage the highest possible degree of scholastic excellence.

3) To promote and sustain both individual and collective integrity and honor.

4) To reflect merit and distinction upon Panther Creek High School in all forms of endeavor.

5) To foster and preserve the traditions of Panther Creek High School.

6) To encourage and develop ties between students and teachers in pursuit of academic excellence.

7) To practice the art and science of democracy.

8) To encourage and promote the highest possible level of collective school spirit and enthusiasm for excellence.

Chess Club

Arunabha Debnath says that Chess Club is basically where people can come to play chess. We have meetings every Thursday to play, teach, and discuss strategies about chess. We also try to create in-school tournaments and are planning on having events where our players can play against people from other schools, like Green Hope and Apex.

Words Within

According to Mrs. Johnson, Words Within is a student led club which encourages and appreciates the diversity and creativity of writing.  The president, Emily R. White, conducts writing exercises of various sorts.  Examples include rewriting the pledge and five word stories.  Members are supportive of each others’ efforts and often share ideas for independent out of class writing.  Future plans will involve professional writers coming in to conduct workshops.

DECA

DECA is an organization that prepares entrepreneurs in marketing, financing, hospitality, and management. DECA trains high school students by making them practice real world business situations.

Key club

Key club is a club that brings students together to help the community and develop leadership and citizenship skills. In key club you help the community by volunteering your time and effort for a good cause.

Environmental

Mrs. Duncan says that Environmental club is a club that focuses on helping the environment in and out of school. Environmental club is responsible for recycling paper and bottles every week at our school.

Future Business Leaders of America

According to Mrs. Chudasama, Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit education association with a quarter million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields.

Dance

According Mrs. Hamblen, the dance club is run by the dance council: Celina Rini, Gabby Medeiros & Sona Patel, the dance club is open to any PCHS student. They are allowed to turn in choreography requests and choreographers are given studio time to create dancers. Any member of the dance club can join these dances.The council choreographs a large group dance, one for the Freshman/Sophomore and one for the Junior/Seniors.  These rehearsals meet every other Wednesday at lunch. All of these dances will be performed in the Spring Showcase on Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m. The proceeds from this showcase fund the Laura Rozo Memorial Scholarship which is awarded to a PCHS senior at the end of the year. The dance club will also participate in some other service projects. There are currently over 100 members in this year’s dance club.

Leo

Caroline Wang said that Leo Club is a branch off the larger Lions Club International. It stands for Leadership, Experience, and Opportunities. As for our club in particular, we are mainly involved in our community through projects and regular highway cleanups. We just finished volunteering at the State Fair, where we worked at the Lions Club Food Booth. When the weather gets warmer, we typically hold car washes to raise money for Stop Hunger Now. Lastly, we hold regular highway cleanups where we pick up trash on McCrimmon Parkway (we adopted the highway that leads up to the school), so we help beautify the school’s surroundings as well. Basically, we’re a volunteering club that is focused on improving both our community and our school.

Family, Career and Community Leaders (FCCLA)

Their  goal is to promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner and community leader, we develop skills for life through: character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and career preparation according senior Victoria Kwon

Youth and Government

Mr. Blalock says Youth and  Government is a YMCA sponsored club that gives students, who are interested in the workings with  local and state government, an opportunity to experience the inner workings of government firsthand.  Students select from a variety of roles including Senator or Representative, Attorney, Lobbyist, or Press Member.  Students who participate can also be elected to serve in executive roles such as Youth Governor, Youth Supreme Court Justice, Member of the Cabinet, or Press Editor.  It all culminates with a four-day YMCA NC Youth Legislature Conference in Raleigh.  The conference is led by students from across the state as they take part in debate, and vote on bills that fellow delegates write and present.

Muslim Student Association

According to Mrs. Ayesh, the Muslim Student Association is designed to unite Muslim students on campus. We meet on Thursdays during SMART lunch to help bring awareness of Islam and Muslim students on campus, to gain more Islamic knowledge, and to inform others of events in the surrounding Muslim community. MSA members also meet on Fridays to pray together. Additionally, events are held off campus to help build relationships through community service and social outings. Some upcoming events for the school year are a service day at the NC Food Bank in Raleigh, as well as a social gathering at Elevation Burger in Raleigh.


The multitude of student organizations at Panther Creek bring the students together and enriches their lives through special interest, civic engagement, and leadership preparation.  Clubs are a really important part of student life because they allow students to gather outside the classroom and enhance their academic lives.  At Panther Creek, clubs help prepare people for real world experiences and are a great extracurricular activity. The organizations impact the students by helping them throughout their high school careers and also inspire them with experiences as varied as assisting in a voter registration drive, helping runners at a marathon, or debating their business knowledge.  Student clubs at Panther Creek are one of the highlights of this school.