by Will Unger ’19

 Before you read on, I challenge you to take a minute and count how many clubs you know at Sherwood.

 Got a number?

 Well I’ll bet it wasn’t 60, which is the official count from the list of clubs on the Sherwood website (A list anyone can access, if you’re interested).

 I’m a senior who’s been part of a fairly diverse number of groups, and I had not heard of a good number of them until I began researching for this article. Beyond honor-societies and more established clubs like Chemistry club or Film club, there are all sorts of smaller groups that represent a broad range of interests. There are so many clubs for everything from Corn Hole, to Fishing, to Latin Dance.

Help Find Answers and Join Stand Up 2 Cancer!

 Most people know about the various charity clubs that exist at Sherwood, or at least that they exist. You can probably name a few, but I don’t think the general population really understands the difference between them.

 “I think we stand apart from other clubs at Sherwood,” said Club President Julianna Gross, “because everyone in our club is committed to it for their own special reason. It’s a great group of really caring people!” Gross, a senior, started the club as a sophomore in February of 2017 after her father passed away from cancer. “I really wanted to find a way to help contribute to finding the end of cancer,” she recalled.

 Since then, Stand Up 2 Cancer, a part of the national fundraising and cancer research organization by the same name, has raised over $3,000.

 That’s not all they’ve done though; in addition to raising money for research, the club has helped out locally at MedStar Montgomery Hospital. Over the holidays, the club delivered holiday cards and candy to patients in the hospital’s infusion center. Through their contact with the hospital, they have also done yard work for patients. In addition, members of the club volunteered at the Olney Theater in October, acting as facilitators and ushers for a panel discussion on breast cancer hosted by MedStar Montgomery’s Women’s Board.

 “We’ve loved helping with people in our community,” said Gross. “It’s been such a fulfilling part of what started as a fundraising-only club.”

 If you’re interested in joining the club, text @shssu2c to the number 81010 to join the club’s Remind group. You’ll receive meeting alerts, and can join simply by attending a meeting. Currently, the club meets every other Monday in J271. Gross said that the club hopes to participate in a walk for cancer come spring, so join soon!

Learn a Couple New Moves With the Latin Dance Club!

 If you’re like me, a white Olneyite with no outwardly discernible ethnic background, you probably don’t know too much about Latin Dance. It’s also likely that you didn’t know that Sherwood has a Latin Dance Club.

 Well it does! Latin Dance Club, led by co-captains junior Anna Chacon and senior Natalia Arrazola, is a new club at Sherwood this year that aims to “[expose students] to different Latin cultures through dance,” according to the club’s mission statement. “We started it because other schools have Latin dance teams, and we wanted to have one at Sherwood, so we took it into our own hands,” explained Chacon.

 The club is performance-oriented, so meetings, which take place after school on Tuesdays, begin with stretches and then the members go right into practicing their dance routines. Because of this, “it’s a lot more structured,” said Chacon. “…But occasionally people will drop by to observe.”

 Currently, the club has plans to be teaching different dances to the Spanish classes on Friday, January 18. “Latin dance has a lot of separate categories,” said Chacon. “The few ones we focus on are merengue, bachata, salsa, and cumbia. My personal favorite is merengue because it moves so quickly and I think it’s the most fun.” In the coming months, the group will also be participating in Sherwood’s International Show and Rockville’s International Night.

 Anyone can join the club, but Chacon warns that it can be difficult to bring people in while training for a performance. Just go talk to Spanish teacher Tanya Aguilar to join. The club meets after school on Tuesdays, in the Little Theatre. They’re also trying to meet after school on Thursdays and do occasionally meet at lunch.

Not Just Barbecues! Join The Cornhole Club Now!

 If you’re here, you’re probably wondering what Cornhole Club is. You may, before you can even begin to wonder what a club for it might look like, be confused about what Cornhole itself is. If you’re not, what are you doing here? Cause that’s what this article is about.

 Cornhole (one word, not two), is according to Merriam-Webster, “a lawn game in which players toss beanbags toward a slanted platform with the aim of passing the beanbag through a hole in the center of the platform.” Cornhole Club, run by seniors Benny Rubin and Chris Ryan, hosts games of Cornhole, weather permitting, every Friday at lunch on the tennis courts.

 There’s more to Cornhole than that though, and there’s much more to the club. It’s a good way to get outside and moving and the nature of the game (typically played in teams of two) fosters friendship through competition. “Things get absolutely hectic often. People get very into their matches,” said Rubin. “I’ve had my blowups every now and again.”

 Though they can only fit in about four games during each meeting, the team has a whopping 100 members. Throughout the year, the club hosts “Cornaments” with 32 teams of two. So that’s 64 people per Cornament, “with many being replaced over each Cornament,” according to Rubin.

 If you have an interest in competing in a Cornament for a shot at a masterfully crafted handmade trophy, the honor of winning, and the undying respect from Rubin, which he claims “is the real prize,” their March Madness tournament is coming up next month. To join the tournament, just contact Rubin or Ryan with you and your partner’s name. And if you’re interested in joining the club, it’s as simple as showing up.

Kind and Respectful, Ally or Gay, Join Stand Proud Today!

 Despite the fact that it’s 2019, and you’d think such outdated and malignant ideas would be well behind us, homophobia is still an issue in the world, and sadly, here at Sherwood. Fear not though, Stand Proud is fighting to make our school a safer and more accepting place for our fellow LGBTQ+ students.

 The club, which has between 20 and 30 members, meets every week with the goal of creating a safe space for students to talk about complex issues and to be themselves without fear of judgment. Meetings vary between group discussions on various topics, to therapy days where members can talk about issues amongst themselves, to free days where they just chill out with friends.“We have created a safe space by keeping the identity of our members secret,” said President Diana Wasson, “and we fight to keep that safety strong in the club.”

 “We always enforce respect within the club, and assure members that whatever they say will not leave the room,” said Isabelle Klimanov, Stand Proud’s vice president. This is important, because the open and accepting atmosphere at meetings isn’t consistent throughout Sherwood.

 One of the ways the club combats this is participation in the National Day of Silence. On April 27, participants take a vow of silence, which symbolically represents the silencing of LGBTQ+ students, to spread awareness about the bullying and harassment they face. The club also would like to participate in Principal Eric Minus’ proposed “Unity Week.”

 Anybody can join the club, “as long as they’re open-minded and respectful,” said Klimanov. Stand Proud meets every Tuesday in K279 at lunch.

Feeling Adventurous? Join Adventure Club!

 As I was looking over the list of clubs to write this article on, one that really stuck out to me was the Adventure Club. “What is Adventure Club?” you might be thinking.

 According to their mission statement, the Adventure Club’s purpose is to “Bring people together to share our love for trying new things in the outdoors and having fun.”

 They organize and go on various outdoor trips, such as hikes and visits to local recreational areas. Just a few weeks ago, they went on a hike at Lake Needwood, as well as Brookside Gardens. On January 26, they are going snow tubing at the Whitetail Resort in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.

 “Adventure means doing something fun you wouldn’t do on an everyday basis. [It] can be anything you make it, something fun with friends” said officer, junior Ally Newby. “We try to go on adventures once a month, usually on Saturdays.”

 Currently, the club has about 25 members. They meet twice a month at lunch on Thursdays in room E263. If you are interested in joining, you can swing by a meeting at lunch on the first Thursday of the month, or join their Remind group by texting @ shsadv2018 to 81010.