WGHS teachers inform about their specific club plans for the 2024-2025 school year, including the “inner workings” of their clubs to inspire the student body to get involved with WG clubs this school year.
by School News Team (Ansleigh Hester, Talia Banks, Tristan Banks, Makenzie Bass, Corynne Cox, Rylee Watson)
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone These are just a few of the major clubs at WGHS that impact the school in a positive manner. From FGE to DECA, there’s always a club that sparks an interest in students. The main goal of any club is to include students in a safe community to change the school for the better. Hopefully this new school year, more students will decide to branch out and join a club. 
Future Georgia Educators (FGE)
By: Rylee Watson At Walnut Grove there is now a Future Georgia Educators (FGE) club that goes hand in hand with the ECE program both directed by Mrs. Sparks (Aimee Sparks). Mrs. Sparks shares a deeper view of what FGE is behind the scenes. “Future Georgia Educators is to help provide opportunities for students to serve teachers at our school and the community in support of our educational field.” Club sponsor, Mrs. Sparks, shares what future plans she has for the new and returning club members in FGE. “We are looking at other service opportunities to help reach our teachers and the community outside of Walnut Grove and within Walnut Grove. We are also looking to raise money for families in need.” Ms. Sparks feels that FGE is an organization that offers fun projects, exceptional opportunities, and club members learn how to uphold a safe classroom environment. Joining FGE is a way to enjoy helping the community and implementing collaboration skills while making the teachers here at Walnut Grove feel supported and cherished. Mrs. Sparks mentions why she pours in so much dedication towards strengthening the club. "I want to see the club grow and produce reliable future educators and give new opportunities for them to see what education looks like beyond high school. I want to show them what chances they have in FGE.” Credit goes to Mrs. Sparks for leading and building the FGE club at Walnut Grove High School. Email Mrs. Aimee Sparks for more information about meeting times and events for FGE. For more information email: [email protected] or visit their Facebook page.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
By: Ansleigh Hester Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a sanctuary for Christian believers who balance sports, school, and spiritual beliefs. Mrs. Doolittle and Pastor Brett Johnson are the spiritual guides for FCA. FCA is not just for athletes, but it’s for any student that’s interested in learning more about Jesus. Mrs. Doolittle explains what the club means to her as a leader and a Christian. “I would say the goal… is for every student to know Jesus. Everybody has had a different part in that walk with God. Our mission is for people to know Jesus and grow in their journey with Him.” Mrs. Doolittle mentions that they are starting “Fields of Faith”, a new big event this year. “We are going to have worship, t-shirts, but it's just a time for everybody to come together for prayer and some students share testimonies as well.” This FCA event was held at LCA last year, but now they are hosting it at WGHS for high school students and middle school students. They will also be hosting a “Games at the Grove” in the spring. The application for the FCA leaders started at the end of last school year when Mrs. Doolittle was asking students to fill out a Google Form. “We had a lot of people apply; which is awesome, so my FCA representative (Pastor Brett Johnson) and I met to decide who were the best choices. We looked over applications, recommendations, and talked about where we felt the Lord was leading us to,” Mrs. Doolittle expresses. FCA meets every Wednesday (starting the first Wednesday in October) in A229 at 7:00a.m. This club is definitely for students that love the Lord and want to spread the light of Jesus to the other students in the school.
Future Farmers of America (National FFA Organization)
By: Talia Banks At Walnut Grove there is a club called the national FFA organization which is an agricultural group. Ms. Shaw, the club sponsor, said, “FFA is a student-led organization that focuses on growing students as leaders and preparing them to have future success in the agriculture industry.” FFA has meetings every month that they attend. Ms. Shaw mentions, “FFA has monthly student-led meetings in which they attend leaderships, trips, and retreats.” FFA competes in cultivation competitions. Ms. Shaw elaborates on the competition variety within the club, “They compete in agriculture related contests that include leadership events like public speaking, as well as any career events like, floriculture, wildlife, judging and many more.” FFA wants to get more involvement from students and they want a multitude of club members that can be added to the FFA chapter. Ms. Shaw expresses that there’s a lot more girls than boys in FFA , "We’re wanting more boys to get involved in FFA this school year.” They take trips to different places, so they can learn from agricultural experiences in these locations. The FFA helps them gain valuable knowledge on agriculture to apply later (if they chose the agricultural career path). Ms. Shaw concludes on this knowledgeable note, “When the students compete at the contests, it helps them to gain skills that will help them in their future.” FFA meets every month on the second Tuesday from 7:00AM - 7:20AM
Green and Black Friars (Troupe 7663)
By: Corynne Cox At Walnut Grove the Green and Black Friars (Troupe 7663) is run by Mrs. Amanda Gibson. Theater is all about telling a story and expressing yourself. Mrs. Gibson said, “Mostly I see drama as being able to share stories in an artistic form.” Her favorite theater quote is, “It is a safe space to do scary things” (which is the core of what she believes as a drama director). Thespians practice being brave, learning to communicate, and working together, as these are all parts of drama club. They have many entertaining shows this school year. Mrs. Gibson states, “This fall we are doing a One-Act competition. We are going to perform ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry. Then later in the year, we will perform a double feature, one being ‘A Christmas Carol’, by Charles Dickens, and the other ‘Circus Olympus.’” There will be another mystery show in the spring. They have active meetings every 1st Wednesday of each month after school, and during every meeting they will give clues to what the spring musical will be. The name reveal of the spring musical will be in November! The theater auditions are open to the entire school. “If you are auditioning for a musical, we will ask to see a little bit of singing, dancing, and acting,” Mrs. Gibson stated. She recommends coming prepared to show everything you know. “For straight shows/ non-musical shows we will ask to see a monologue that gives us an idea of who you are as an actor. We also like to find out what you are interested in- acting, costumes, makeup, and hair.” Their next set of auditions are the first full week of November for their spring musical! Mrs. Gibson is an alumnus at WGHS (a part of the first graduating class), and she helped build the Drama Club from the ground up. Mrs. Gibson says, “My freshman year was when the school opened, and there were no clubs and very little sports to play. My sophomore year I got to be a part of the first “Green and Black Friars” drama club. When she got the job to be the drama teacher, she felt at home at her alma mater.
Marching Band
By: Makenzie Bass Marching Band is one of the many clubs/sports offered here at Walnut Grove. It is a rigorous sport, filled with many different needed skills. As we begin the 2024 marching season, our band and staff have worked incredibly hard to get a jump start. This year’s show is titled, “Night At The Bazaar” by Randall Standridge and has four movements. Mrs. Merck, who is the marching band director, said that in order to achieve gold this semester, she is going to “push [students] harder than ever and train leadership in a way that when they are in charge, they are benefitting the band as a whole and not just themselves.” At competitions, their performance consists of going head to head with many schools from all over Georgia, including several schools they have gone against in the past. “We have really strong bonds through the heat and physical punishments. I think we have a really big respect for each other. I know I respect all my students for being present and giving up their summers, and I feel like there’s the same level of respect going back to all the staff,” Mrs. Merck explains about the difference between marching band with other clubs. She added, “One thing I want to change this season from last is being stronger individual players. We have a lot of strong members in the group that kind of cover up some people, so just making sure that rookies all the way up to seniors are able to play their part.” Lastly, Mrs. Merck shares, “The one thing I want students to take away from this season is that hard work pays off. We do a lot of long hours in the heat and lots of hard work, but at the end of the season I hope the kids remember that what they did in the past few months will really pay off.” Marching band has practice from 3-6 p.m. every day after school to prepare for football games and competitions.
DECA (Marketing Club): Krista Milligan’s First Year as a DECA Leader
By: Tristan Banks At Walnut Grove high school there is a club called DECA which is about competitions that showcase marketing skills and marketing planning. Ms. Krista Milligan said, “My goal this year is to grow DECA. I want as many people to join us as possible, and I want to have a great first year as a teacher and learn as much as I can.” “I also want all my kids to learn as much as they can about marketing and enjoy it,” Ms. Milligan states. “I want us to have the highest selling year we've had in the school and in the Warrior Warehouse this year as well as the Warrior Cafe." This year, she’s focusing on social media marketing because it's a way of getting information out to students and teachers. Ms. Milligan is going to introduce some new things to the school store. “We are gonna try to sell more energy drinks like Monsters, Celsius, and etc.” She became a leader of DECA because she really wants the kids to enjoy career exploration [a good way to help them with marketing jobs in the future]. Ms. Milligan shares the process of competitions in DECA. “They get to pick a division of marketing. Students have the option to choose sports marketing, promotion visions, and communication. They’re also required to take a test in the competition. When they go to compete, they get a paper with a prompt on it, and they have a few minutes to sketch out a plan. Then, they stand in front of a judge and introduce themselves [with their sketched idea],” she concludes. Ms. Milligan states, “I want my students to know that I'm relatable because I'm a young teacher, and I understand what they're going through. I'm here for them...”
Clubs to be Further Featured in the Future:
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8/17/2024