Clubs & Activities

List of 23 items.

• Athletic Association

  Grades 5-8

  
  The Athletic Association’s purposes are to publicize and promote Middle School athletic events, to maintain and strengthen school spirit and, through special events, to bridge the gaps between Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. Membership consists of Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 students. There is a written application process upon joining. There is no after-school commitment associated with the MS Athletic Association.

• Breathe-In Meditation Club

  Grades 5-8
  
  Breathe-In Meditation Club exposes Middle School students to and the subsequent practice of different types of breathing exercises, meditations, visualizations and physical movement. With these exercises, the club aims to create a basis for students to develop calm alertness and focus that they can apply inside the classroom and outside of school.

• Civic Agenda

  Grades 6-8
  
  Did you know that 22% of registered voters participated in the 2017 Mayoral election? That is only one-eighth of New York City’s population choosing who will run our great city. Civics club, a non-partisan organization, wants to address low voter turnout by educating the Spence community and beyond about the workings of government on the city, state, and federal level. Through workshops, speakers, field trips, conversations, and more, civics club’s goal is to spread awareness about critical issues, such as women’s rights and elections. The club hopes to inspire the Spence community to become more civically engaged and to become more aware of the government that surrounds them.

• Debate Club (MS)

  Grades 5-6

  
  

  The 5-6 Debate Club is a place for students to learn the principles of a well-reasoned argument. This is a place to learn to argue effectively and where students learn to listen to one another. This club is a place to help hone public speaking skills and teamwork. It requires a fairly regular attendance, since once the year gets underway, some preparation will be required from week to week. 

• Documentary Club and Fiction Film-Making

  Grades 6-8

  
  

  In the Filmmaking Club, students work in small groups and together create short digital films. At the start of the year, we study and practice professional filmmaking techniques – camerawork, sound recording, effective use of lighting, and editing using Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. We then form groups, plan, script, and produce our films and share them in a Middle School screening.

• Environmental Club (MS)

  Grades 5-8

  
  

  The Middle School Environmental Club is committed to finding ways to address the ecological problems facing our planet. Specific concerns/projects have been: composting at Spence; letter writing on such issues as resource extraction, bottled water and the Farm Bill; promoting sustainable, fair trade issues by selling chocolate and tagua nut carvings; donating the money made by sales to support good causes; screening important movies; and appreciating nature in Central Park via the Birdathon and walks on the east side of the Reservoir.

• First Lego League Robotics

  Grades 5-8 
  
  First Lego League/Robotics Club is open to all middle school students. Students will develop their robotics, research, and teamwork skills as they tackle this year’s Challenge: INTO ORBIT! The Challenge is composed of three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the FLL Core Values. For the Robot Game, teams will program an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field. For the Project, teams will identify a human physical or social problem faced during space exploration, conduct research and propose a potential solution. And, the team is guided by and judged on the FLL Core Values, in which cooperative teamwork is essential. The team will attend an official tournament, hosted by our FIRST LEGO League Partners.

• Gender - Sexual Alliance

  Grades 7-8
  
  The Middle School Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is a space for all students to explore questions and issues and experiences around gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation. Opportunities will also exist to connect with the Upper School Gender Spectrum Alliance.

• Geometric Designs in the Physical World

  Grades 5-8
  
  The Geometric Designs in the Physical World Club provides space for students to use programming environments to create geometric designs and prepare them for printing to a 3D printer, embroidery machine or vinyl cutter. The club is open to all students in middle school, and has designated days for Grades 5-6 and Grades 7-8.

• Graphic Storytelling

  Grades 7-8
  
  In the graphic storytelling club, students write and draw their own graphic sequences, share their favorite graphic novels and are introduced to graphic works they may not yet have encountered. Carefully selected videos on aspects of craft help students apply new techniques to their own work. For a group project, students may pool their graphic storytelling skills and adapt a favorite short story.  

• Knitting Club

  Grades 7-8
  
  Knitting Club is for students of all experience levels: students can join if they already know how to knit and want to bring a project to work on, but they can also come and learn to knit for the first time. We offer students one set of needles and a ball of yarn. Students work together to complete their projects and receive advisor support to troubleshoot any issues with their knitting progress.

• Math Olympiad Club

  Open to Grades 5-6, each grade meets once a week to practice and prepare for five Olympiad contests each year. Club members work on engaging and challenging math problems at each meeting. We practice and share creative problem solving, and we have FUN doing math!

• Math Team

  The Middle School Math Team is open to all Middle School students in Grades 6 to 8 and is focused on preparing students for mathematics competitions. Members of the teamwork in groups and individually on challenging mathematics problems that are mostly drawn from past competitions. The Middle School Math Team competes in 3 to 4 competitions throughout the year.

• MS News

  Grades 5-8
  
  MS News provides an opportunity for students to create and publish nonfiction content about Spence and about the broader communities of New York City and the wider world. Students will write, photograph, video record and then share hard news reports, surveys, interviews, social action/civic education pieces, opinion pieces, features/human interest stories (e.g. profiles of Spence teachers, administrators and staff as well as other inspiring people in our world), film, television,, theater, dance, art, music, gaming, online culture reviews, style pieces, and more. In addition to publishing, the club's work may be shared via presentations at gatherings or assemblies.

• MS Poetry Club

  The Middle School Poetry Club (MSPC) meets weekly to write original poems. Each student is supplied with a composition book and optional prompts that enhance risk-taking and literary exploration. The MSPC sponsors various MS assemblies throughout the year. Assemblies from recent years featured poetry from the Favorite Poem Project where staff, faculty and students from all levels chose their favorite published poems; a presentation of the winning poems of the MS-wide poetry contests, judged anonymously by club members; poetry awareness presentations (e.g. giving information on the difference between a metaphor and simile, or introducing erasure and collage poems); and assemblies that feature the year's best MSPC member poems. The MSPC has also hosted bake sales on behalf of literacy-themed charity groups.

• MS Running Club

• Music Club

• Musical Theater Group

  Musical Theater Group is a fantastic opportunity for middle-schoolers who share a love of theater to come together and put on a musical. This mostly student-run group gets together two mornings per week, and members work on choreography, blocking, singing, costumes and props. In the past, the club has performed the musicals Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Mary Poppins, and we intend to perform Alice in Wonderland this year. Not only is the club looking for performers, but also for costume and set designers, and for backstage hands. Middle School Musical Theater Group is the perfect place for you to develop new talents, and let your old talents shine!

• Page Turners Club

  Page Turners is a Middle School club that focuses on books and reading. There are two different Page Turners clubs: one for fifth- and sixth-graders and one for seventh- and eighth-graders. The clubs will meet in the Middle and Upper School Library on Wednesdays during Middle School lunch (in alternating weeks). In Page Turners, we will read and discuss books from different genres. The main goal of the club is to explore terrific books that are hidden gems – those books that you might not have heard of that fly a little under the best-sellers radar. We begin with realistic fiction and then move on to fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction. If you like to read, please join us!

• Social Action

  This club hopes to make a positive difference in the world by looking at issues that affect our community: girls, schools, New York City, our country and the world. The main focus of the club is to educate others about issues, such as social justice and equity, that we deem important or of interest, and explore how we can help make changes. We hope to aid in making changes by fundraising, advocacy and service.

• Student Council (MS)

  Three elected students from each grade level of the Middle School form the Middle School Student Council. Students in Grades 7 and 8 are elected by their classmates for yearlong terms, and students in Grades 5 and 6 serve for half of the year, giving the younger members of the Middle School more opportunities to run for and serve on the Council. Council members plan and run Friday morning meetings for the Middle School, implement spirit-building activities and support Middle School initiatives. The Council meets weekly and is advised by the Head of Middle School.

• Students of Color Affinity Group

  Students of Color Affinity Group (SOCA) is a Middle School affinity group for those who identify as a person of color. We come together in a safe space to talk about our experiences, and we celebrate who we are and where we come from. Our conversations acknowledge racial realities and increase our racial vocabulary. Sometimes we gather after school to watch films or go on cultural field trips around NYC.

• Yoga Club

  Yoga club is open to seventh- and eighth-graders, regardless of experience, who want to relax and release tension in the middle of the day while also building strength and flexibility. We will be starting with basic poses and building on them to eventually learn more complex poses. This is a vinyasa style class, which means we will flow from one pose to the next (almost like a dance at times). This club will meet in the PEP room. It is not necessary to change your clothing for the class (just bring a pair of leggings or shorts).