Clubs & Organizations

Below is a list of all the active clubs at Pioneer Valley Regional School for the 2022-2023 school year.

The list is organized by age of participation starting with clubs open to middle school students.

Clubs and activities open to students in grades 7-12

All School Play-Fall/Musical- Spring

Play Director: Mr. Campbell/ Musical Director(s) TBD

The PVRS Theater Program offers students interested in the performing arts a chance to take the stage and transform! We offer a variety of performance options including a fall play and spring musical. There are also technical assistant opportunities featuring lighting, set design, costumes, and makeup as well! Come be a part of our team! Rehearsals are most days after school for several weeks prior to production.

Students in grades 7-12 are welcome to participate.

Faculty Advisor(s): Angie Renaud

The Bike club supports cyclists of all types and skill levels to get out and ride as an avenue for mental and physical well-being. Thanks to the generous support of the Specialized Foundation, we have new bikes and equipment for member use. We meet after school in the fall and spring as weather permits, at which time routes are determined by club members. We welcome students in all grades, as well as parents, staff, and community members to join us. Wednesday afternoons from 2:30-4pm. We will start Wednesday, September 25th and ride until it is too cold or snowy to ride and then start back up again in the Spring.

Art Club

Faculty Advisor: Tracy Derrig and Adrienne Ghilani

The Art Club will meet after school (likely on Mondays, weekly or bi-monthly, as interest demands)to take on extracurricular projects such as wall murals and site-specific artworks. We will also explore more traditional art works and materials in the art classroom. The club is open to all interested students in grades 7-12, and hopefully will provide an opportunity for students not currently enrolled in an art class to find some time for engaging their creativity and learning about visual art. Students in the Art Club will also be welcome on regular Art Department field trips and activities.

Faculty Advisor(s): Ruth Davidson

Our purpose is to discover French language and culture with the aim of becoming true francophiles. The club meets on Thursdays during Flex and every second Thursday after school in Room #102. The club sponsors movie nights, organizes Fancy winter and spring suppers, Mardi Gras parties, scavenger hunts, trips to theater productions ie. Les Miserables, sponsors food drives, etc. We welcome all students and would like to broaden your scope of the world! Your ideas and opinions matter.

Membership is open to students in grades 7-12.

Faculty Advisor: Rachel Dowd

The PVRS Gender & Sexuality Alliance is part of a national youth leadership movement that works to empower youth activists to end harassment and discrimination in schools based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We also offer a safe space for students to discuss their experiences at Pioneer in relation to their gender and sexual identity.

Membership is open to students in grades 7-12 and it takes place during Pathways blocks.

Literary Arts Magazine/Student Publications

Faculty Advisor: Tracy Derrig

This club will publish articles for the quarterly Literary & Arts Magazine, that aim to keep our communities informed of events, accomplishments, and opportunities happening in the greater PVRSD Humanities and Art Departments. The Literary publication will include written and visual art contributed by any/all Pioneer students. Layout, typesetting (Adobe Suite: Pagemaker, Illustrator) and designing the magazine will also be taught to interested students as the year progresses. All PVRS students can and will be encouraged to submit work during their Art and English courses.

The group is open to all PVRS students in grades 7-12. We will meet on a monthly and/or bi-monthly basis, as publication demands.

Faculty Advisor(s): Alyssa Blum

What sets Ultimate Frisbee apart from all other sports is the “Spirit of the Game.” Our team members hold themselves to a higher standard of sportsmanship, both on and off the field. We play hard, we play fair, and we have a lot of fun. The club is open to students of all skill levels in grades 7 through 12 during the spring sports season. We practice Monday through Thursday from 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. and compete against other schools two to three times a week. We also participate in several local tournaments, which are typically held on weekends. Join us for the greatest game on Earth!

Clubs and activities open to students in grades 9-12

GAME SHOW COMPETITION

Faculty Advisor(s):

The purpose of our club is to prepare for a game show competition with other Western Massachusetts high schools both private and public. We have one group of four each year that competes and one alternate. Also, other students join us during the year to begin training for the next year.

Our meetings take place after school primarily on Mondays and/or Thursdays, however, we meet other afternoons depending on the group of students we are working with and when they are available. Our meetings include viewing past shows, reviewing strategies based on our strengths and weaknesses. We usually begin in October -November depending on the student's schedules. Our taping at Westfield State University is usually scheduled anytime between December and February.

Through the year we are either working with this year's team and/or next year's team. Often the alternate(s) become part of the next team. We use various strategies to prepare the team in six categories. The six categories covered are: Arts & Entertainment, Literature, Math & Science, General Knowledge, Social Studies, and World Events. Any student in 9-12 grade may participate in the actual event. We have sometimes had eighth graders as well. We usually have to do heavy recruiting because it is quite a commitment on the part of the students.

Membership is open to grades 9-12.

Faculty Advisor(s): Zack Billings

Envirothon is a natural resource education program emphasizing hands-on, team-oriented problem solving and community involvement. Envirothon team members learn about soil, water, wildlife, and forest resources, and investigate important environmental issues affecting this community. Each year the team selects a service or research project to work on as a group, and presents the project to a group of environmental professionals at the annual competition. Teams from over 40 schools in Massachusetts come together in May at the annual Massachusetts Envirothon competition to demonstrate what they’ve learned about the environment and to describe the actions they have taken to improve their local ecosystems. Envirothon competitions are held in 49 U.S. states, three U.S. territories, the District of Columbia and 10 Canadian provinces. Winners of each state/province competition compete in the North American Envirothon competition each summer. The team will meet weekly after school between sports seasons and additional after school or weekend times as announced. We will attend at least one workshop in the fall and one in the spring.

Membership is open to students in grades 9-12.


High School Robotics Club

Advisor:

Faculty Advisor:

The Robotics Club is centered around competing in the Vex Robotics Competition. Students work in teams to design, build, and program a robot to compete in a game that changes every year. Mentors are there to support, but not design or build the robots, students get to do that! Because the game changes every year, each year new strategies need to be developed and new robots designed. Come if you’re interested in design, building, coding, or just interested. We will compete in at least one statewide tournament a year and hopefully some regional events as well. Membership is currently open to 9-12th graders. Meetings occur after school, day TBD.

Faculty Advisor(s): Aimee Brown and Emily Miner

Is responsible for planning and organizing Homecoming, ARC Blood drives, and other community events. Student Council representatives are elected in the spring for their respective class. The group meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays prior to Spirit Week/Homecoming, then on Tuesdays (during Flex) after that.

Membership is comprised of elected students from grades 9-12.

(TAB)

Faculty Advisor(s): Rachel Dowd, Kat Freeman, and Charity O'Connor

During the 2013-2014 school year, Pioneer teamed up with Quabbin Mediation to bring to our school Training Active Bystanders. Training Active Bystanders (TAB) is an evidence-based program which promotes pro-social attitudes, youth leadership and school-community connections while significantly reducing violence in middle and high schools. TAB heightens bystanders’ awareness of their influence, teaches how bystanders can interrupt harm doing and generate positive actions by others, and explains how passivity becomes complicity. TAB promotes responsibility for others and the competencies to safely help those in need, and emphasizes that active bystandership does not mean aggression against harm doers.

When Do We Meet?

Every other summer, trainers participate in a two day training with yearly “refresher” training as needed. Most meetings occur during Flex time. Trainers teach a 6 lesson curriculum to 7th grade students over 3 weeks.

Who is the Club Open to?

TAB welcomes new members! There is an applications process every other year where people can be nominated by teachers, nominated by a TAB Trainer, -or- self request to participate. Students must have a "C" or better in classes & be able to afford to miss an occasional class to teach.

Who are the Student Leaders in Our Group?

TAB doesn’t have specific leaders such as sports (i.e. Captains) and other clubs (i.e. President) because every member is expected to be an active bystander within our school community.

Faculty Advisor(s): Aimee Brown

Members of this club will take pictures and design the yearbook for 2019-2020. We have deadlines to meet and advertisements to sell, so we need to be ready to work together! We will meet during flex blocks and after school on Thursdays from 2:30-4:00.

The club is currently open to high school students.

Honor Societies

Faculty Advisor(s): Zach Billings

The purpose of National Junior Honor Society, a national organization, is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character and to encourage citizenship. Students are inducted during their Freshman year. Students also participate in a variety of service projects such as school wide recycling, sending cards to children at Baystate and collecting donations for a local animal rescue.

This group meets 1-2 times per month during Flex.


NHS

Faculty Advisor(s): Zach Billings

The Roger W.O. Genest Chapter of the National Honor Society is a group of students who have been inducted into the NHS based upon their academic excellence, service to others, leadership and character. Grades 10 and 11 candidates are invited to apply for membership in the spring semester and Grade 12 candidates in the fall, once they have met the scholarship requirement of a minimum of a 3.3 cumulative grade point average. Students participate in a variety of Community Service events such as Holiday Adopt-A-Family, Sole Hope shoe making for Ugandan children, bell ringing for the Salvation Army, food drives for the Western Massachusetts Food Bank, helping with the Dickinson Library Holiday Bazaar, etc. This group meets 1-2 times per month during Flex.


French Honor Society

Faculty Advisor: Madame Davidson

French Honor Society is a group of French students who have earned excellent grades in French while also maintaining high scholastic averages in their other subjects. Each year we do a form of charity work whether it be a food drive, clothing drive, or raise money for those in need etc. Our members get to celebrate all things French while learning and discovering even more about French culture.

Spanish Honor Society

Faculty Advisor:

The Spanish Honor Society is an opportunity for students to learn more and understand the Hispanic culture. There are elements of community service and leadership within the community. Students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the culture by traveling, hosting and speaking Spanish to improve proficiency and relating to the global world. Members are eligible for achieving the Bi-literacy Seal and wearing the Honor cords at graduation.

Tri M Music Society

Faculty Advisor: Eric Weller

Tri-M is the only national honor society for student musicians in the country. It highlights our school’s music program and gives students the opportunity to perform, lead and serve.