Extracurriculars for highschool students with a limited highschool

[jbmiller]

Hey everyone!

I'm a freshman in high school and I'm looking to get into a lot of good/fun extracurricular activites my sophomore year.

My schools activities are VERY LIMITED. We don't even have a math or science club...

We have about 3 clubs that I'm interested in that are already existing; Scholars bowl, NHS, LITE team, and mabye the Debate team.

You're probably wondering what the LITE team is? It's a group of students who go around the community doing various services. When I join this club next year I do believe that I will register over 100 hours of community service.

As for the math and science club, me and one of friends will be talking to our schools Principal with the idea of starting both of those new clubs.(The clubs can't be rejected, so making them is no worry).

Most of the clubs like Scholars bowl and NHS I can't be in until my Junior year(I think, not for sure)

So if anyone has suggestions on clubs/extracurriculars that I could do inside or even outside of school please tell me.

And when I say outside of school I mean anything, absolutely ANYTHING.(jobs, research, ect.)

One last thing, my dad doesn't necessairly want me working during my high school career, including the summer. So if anyone could give me some jobs that aren't the typical high school summer jobs(working at a pool, resturant, ect.), then that would be greatly appreciated so my dad would be happy with me working. I also don't want him paying for all my summer programs and camps. I need to be capable to pay for some of the programs, also if would raise my responsibility/maturity level.

Thanks!

 

[Fifty]

Starting a math/science club is a great idea! I did/am doing the same at my school.

As for jobs: I have worked at a grocery store since I started high school. I literally started both at the same time. I know the manager well and he gives me flexible hours. I work anywhere from 10-25 hours a week, though usually around 16. Working forces you to do things -important things- that you don't learn in school: socializing with strangers, taxes, income statements, unionization etc. It also teaches you how to deal with money and how to deal with your superiors. I think having a job in high school is beneficial to anyone, and I honestly feel like it has helped my in my academics. Most obvious is that doing repetitive, mundane work leaves me a lot of time to think. I spend a lot of it thinking about physics, math in chemistry. Perhaps less obvious is the type of thinking I employ at work. The tasks I am responsible for at work are very linear. Linear thinking is good, because it balances all the abstract thinking I do at school.

An ideal job (one that would certainly help you in your academics) would be to become a tutor. I tutor, voluntarily at school and I find it helps my academics as well. I keep teaching, re-teaching, learning and relearning the same concepts over and over again so I have a lot more practice and understanding with them than some of my peers.

Working in a restaurant will probably make you the most money, because of tips, but the hours wouldn't be flexible. You would be expected to work evening - night hours like 7PM-1AM, even on some weeknights (though most restaurants aren't open late on weeknights anyway, check with the restaurant to which you are applying before committing).

Oh, and having your own money and your own control over it is an empowering feeling, but "with great power comes great responsibility" and that couldn't be less true. Achieving a balance between spending and saving, and spending wisely might as well be an art, because it takes some practice and good advice. My advice? Forced savings. Have your work deposit a certain amount of money into your chequing account every paycheck and the rest into a savings account that you deny yourself access to. For example, I make about $150/week. Every week, $40 goes into an accessible chequing account, and the rest into my savings account. In order to take money from my savings account, I must transfer money two days in advance.

As you get older and more involved in high school, you'll want to have a car, a girlfriend/boyfriend and do fun stuff with your friends. All of that costs money, and your parents will only help you out so much. Though, not be sexist, it seems like the males in high school are generally the ones contributing most, financially, to a relationship.

Some jobs will look good on university applications and resumes. For example, being a science tutor will score you extra points with admission officers considering acceptance into science/math programs. Anything involving leadership looks good too, regardless of what program you want to get into.