For a student who is not enrolled in any Spanish classes, sitting through a meeting with the Spanish Club can be a bit difficult. Fortunately, when Senora Van Hartogh quickly switches between English and Spanish, the members of the club can keep up.

The members of the Spanish Club are students who are currently enrolled in a Spanish class. They work hard in class and also in the club — just ask club president, senior Kaleb Chesnic. They have organized and participated in many events throughout the school year, such as the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, nacho sales during lunches, and fundraising for organizations. (You may have already been a contributor to one of their nacho sales.)

Although when most clubs fundraise, it’s solely for their own benefit, the Spanish club has found other things to do with its earnings. The money from nacho sales this year went to a Haitian fundraiser after the disaster struck in Haiti, while funds from other different activities the club did throughout the year went to buy supplies for Lincoln Park’s Fun Day, as well as to the American Red Cross for Chilean Relief organizations.

While the Spanish Club does work for plenty of other groups, they do have opportunities to benefit themselves. Senior Stephanie Marshall is the Spanish Club’s “personal chef.” Stephanie has graciously given her time to prepare many dishes from countries throughout the Latin world. This year, Stephanie has made things such as provolones de cassia y Carmelo, which is a Cuban cookie with caramel on top; beef empanadas; pastel de choclo; chicken tamales; red beans and rice with spicey chorzio,;and tres leches cake. Some of these delicious treats were also sold to raise money for the club.

As many students probably remember, the Spanish Club sponsored a school-wide celebration of Cinco de Mayo. They had some beautiful decorations adorning the atrium during lunch as well as entertainment. Senior Karmen Simmel and junior Amber Nicole performed the tango, while junior Evan Kremmel and Amber performed the Mexican hat dance, which got some of the students watching involved.

As the year came to an end, the Spanish Club still worked feverishly to plan events. They sold some items at Fun Day, and also welcomed a Peruvian guest to school. And for those students who are particularly Spanish driven, Senora Van Hartogh will be offering a “summer school” program for current Spanish students. There will be fun, food — and lots of Spanish.

Every year when clubs are chosen, there are always a few clubs that students are a little unsure about. Sometimes it is because they are not sure what the club is or because they do not know what they club does. Either way, they are hesitant to sign up for them and in turn move on to choose a more popular, well-known club.

The Game Design Club is one of those lesser known clubs here at Lincoln Park. It is not overwhelmingly large like other clubs – it has about 20 members — and there is not always much activity seen. That does not mean that the Game Design Club does nothing because the members are actually working quite hard. During club meetings, the members experience some of the newest types of gaming technology. They are currently working with Blurst, which is a website that features high-flash games.

The club, which meets in the Media Design Lab, does not have much planned for this year just yet. Doug Sharp, the advisor who is in charge of the Game Design Club, would like to plan a field trip to GEARS and possibly to some game design studios in Pittsburgh. GEARS (Game Environment Applying Real Skills) is a program that is part of the Lincoln Interactive program, run through the National Network of Digital Schools, and it works to create educationally-based games. According to Sharp, “Kids are more likely to play video games than to study, so why not get them to study while playing games?”

Unlike the majority of the clubs at Lincoln Park, the Game Design Club does not have a president or any officers. Sharp and the members of the club agreed that it is very laid-back and has no need for officers. There are members who have been part of the club in previous years and some new, just like any other.

Taylor Heinselman, a junior, is a new member to the Game Design Club. For her, Game Design Club was not her first choice but it worked out well for her. Heinselman says that she enjoys experimenting with games and that there is a possibility that she will want to go into a career for gaming design or computer programming.

A second-year member of the Game Design Club and a sophomore here at Lincoln Park, Brandon Stettner, says that the club is much better this year. He stated that last year the attendance to club meetings was very poor and the club activities were only available to select members due to a lack of computers. This year, there are less people in the club which means there is not a problem with the computers. He says that this year the Game Design Club is more of a “doing stuff club” and that members are actually playing games and getting more involved.

Senior Dan Burnside has been involved in the Game Design Club for the past two years and the Gaming Club for one. He says that it has changed a lot in the previous years. When the Gaming Club was still available, more people actually played games. It was focused on a more social aspect. If someone found a good game they might bring it to other members of the Gaming Club who would then play it. “It was a bunch of gamers doing what they do best.” He says.

Although it is not as well known, the Game Design Club is an active club that is really doing things this year. The members are stepping up their game and really doing a lot more than they have in previous years. Things seem to be getting better for the Game Design Club members and hopefully there will be positive advances for the club throughout the year.

Where do you go when you want to help save the Earth? For some, that question may be difficult to answer. Luckily for students at Lincoln Park, the answer is the Environmental Club.

The Lincoln Park Environmental Club, also known as the LPEC, is sponsored by Ms. McKenzie and Mr. Schmidt and is run by the students at Lincoln Park. According to McKenzie, the Environmental Club is “informed people lessening Lincoln Park’s carbon footprint.” The LPEC is actively at work inside the school with the recycling program, which has put recycling bins in every classroom. The members have also set up programs to recycle old cell phones and printer ink cartridges.

The LPEC’s work isn’t limited to the school, though. Members have made their mark out in the community with the “Adopt a Highway” program; by selling hemp bracelets then donating the profits to the American Heart Association; and also by helping the elementary students plant flowers.

If you have already joined another club, you can still volunteer and help out with the LPEC. The Environmental Club has some great ideas for this year and anyone can get involved. And even if you are not able to join the Environmental Club, reducing, reusing, and recycling are always appreciated!

–Lauren Brunke