Social Life and Community - Creating Lasting Friendships within a global community

Our online clubs are a key part of our virtual school community for grades 7–12, deepening relationships and providing students with the opportunity to work collaboratively.

Clubs offer Laurel Springs students the opportunity to socialize with other students who share the same interests, talents and goals. Students gather in a stimulating, inviting and secure online environment where they can talk to each other in real time and dive more deeply into subjects that interest them, all under the guidance of experienced, dynamic teachers. Clubs meet once a month, on a pre-assigned day and time. Students continue to work together throughout each month on club projects and activities.

Clubs are free to full time enrolled students, there is no limit to the number of clubs a student can join. New membership is established each year.

Clubs Available

•    Art Club (grades 7-12)
•    Astronomy – Order of the Dolphin Club (grades 9-12)
•    Book Club (grades 9-12)
•    Creative Writing/Poetry Club (grades 7-12)
•    Debate Club (grades 9-12)
•    Environmental Club (grades 7-12)
•    Film Club (grades 7-12)
•    French Club (grades 7-12)
•    Forensics Club (grades 7-12)
•    Model United Nations Club (grades 7-12)
•    Music Club (grades 7-12)
•    Technology Club (grades 7-12)

Club Descriptions

Art Club – (grades 7-12) – Second Tuesday, 10 a.m. Pacific Time. This club is open to students in grades 7 through 12 who are passionate about art. Art Club offers a combination of application and appreciation for art. Whether you love to simply admire artists’ works, or prefer to create your own masterpieces, this club is for you. We’ll consider various art forms and how they have contributed to mankind through the ages, review works of the Masters, learn to critique without criticism, experiment with a variety of media, explore our inner selves through personal artistic expression, enjoy lively discussions, share ideas and suggestions, display our finished works and, together, take great pleasure in this common bond: the love of ART. Come join the fun!

Astronomy – Order of the Dolphin Club – (grades 9-12) – Second Thursday, 10 a.m. Pacific Time. In the Astronomy Club we’ll explore the questions: Are we alone? How many planets that support life exist? What is required for life to exist? Can we imagine life other than carbon-based? How many intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations exist in our own galaxy? 

You may want to know: What is the “Order of the Dolphin?”
At a historic meeting that established the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – now part of NASA) as a scientific discipline, the participants at this meeting became known as the "Order of the Dolphin," bringing together leading astronomers, physicists, biologists, social scientists, and industry leaders to discuss the possibility of detecting intelligent life among the stars. In our club, each student will become a “Dolphin” as we explore the outer reaches of the solar system and search for understanding our place in the Universe.

Book Club – (grades 9-12) – LSS Book Club is open to students who love reading and discussing books, authors, and the big ideas behind the writing in grades 9-12. Students will choose books for the club to read at the beginning of the school year each Fall.  Students are encouraged to explore new genres and a variety of authors. Students will lead book discussions, respond to posts in the Book Club Forum, have read-a-thons, and debate topics and authors.  Meetings are scheduled the second Wednesday of the month at 10 am pst.

Creative Writing/Poetry Club – (grades 7-12) – First Tuesday, 9 a.m. Pacific Time. Creative Writing Club members make up the staff of the Laurel Springs Vision and Voices Magazine, published each quarter. The club is for students who enjoy writing and reading poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Through peer editing and a monthly meeting, come and improve your creativity and craft! 

Debate Club – (grades 9-12) – Second Tuesday, 9 a.m. Pacific Time. This exciting club is open to students in grades 9-12 and meets in Elluminate (our online classroom system) once a month for a debate. Topics are given out during the month so that students can choose a position and prepare their cases.

Environmental Club - (grades 7-12) - First Monday, 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The Environmental Club is for students in grades 7-12 who care about keeping our air and water clean, our wildlife protected, and our planet safe for ourselves and future generations.  There are events making headlines in the news, and others that don’t make the news.  We’ll examine the controversial issues and discover how they affect our own communities, as we share ideas and strategies for what we can do to make a difference.

Film Club -  (grades 7-12) - Second Thursday, 9 AM Pacific. This club is open to students in grades 7-12 who have an interest in the art of filmmaking. We will be discussing all aspects of do-it-yourself movie-making, from contemporary technologies to development of screenplays, as well as where you can share your work and what to consider if you’re thinking about a career in the film industry. Expertise or previous experiences are not pre-requisites for this club; whether you’re just starting out or already on your way, your participation is welcome!

French Club – (grades 7-12) – First Friday, 9 a.m. Pacific Time. This club is open to French language students, in grades 7-12 who would like to have a real experience of French and France, in a highly interactive environment. Our goal is to use the skills already acquired in the language, and go on a discovery journey of France, its landscapes, and all aspects of its culture.

Handwriting Analysis – (grades 7-12) – Second Tuesday, 11 a.m. Pacific Time.  If you are a  7th-12th grade student and enjoy a good mystery, you will love the Forensics Club.  Students will work together in group activities to discover the hows, whys, whens, and "who dunnits"  connected to various  crimes.  A variety of crime scene scenarios will be presented with ample clues available to solve the cases.   For those who might be on the squeamish side, rest easy. You will collect and analyze data, work in virtual labs, use diagrams and computer models to resemble scenes and all without having to view real crime victims.  You do NOT need any special supplies, but a good magnifying glass and/or access to a microscope will enhance the experience.

Model United Nations Club – (grades 7-12) – The Model United Nations Club engages in an authentic simulation of the United Nations system by learning about the UN system, the skills of debate, compromise, conflict resolution and negotiation. Model UN team members have fun learning about the workings of world diplomacy through the lens of current events.  This club is open to grades 7-12. We meet on the first Monday of the month at 10:00 am Pacific.

Music Club – (grades 7-12) – The music club is open to anyone in grades 7 through 12 who loves, creates or lives for music.  Our goal is to celebrate, educate, support, inspire, create, listen to and express our love of the spirit of music.  This year we will be meeting the first Wednesday of each month at 10 am Pacific, creating songs online and continuing to explore ideas of how sound, song, and community are affected by the expression of music.

Technology Club – (grades 7-12) – The Tech Club is open to students in grades 7-12.  It is a forum for networking, discussing, educating and encouraging interests that incorporate technology.  The overall goal is for students to enhance their education and life experience. Technology is loosely defined as a body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in communicating, traveling, fashioning implements, practicing arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials. This year we will meet the first Thursday of every month at 10 am Pacific and discuss and share the positive impact of technology in our lives.