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Clubs and Activities
CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES
* indicates UPDATED for the2026-27 school year
BOARD GAME CLUB – Grades 7-12*
Looking for a place to play your favorite games, learn new strategies, and hang out with fellow gamers? The Board Game Club meets every Tuesday, but now offering an alternating schedule so there's always something new on the table!
- Board Game: We roll out classic favorites, modern strategy games, and party games. Bring a personal favorite from home or jump into one from our collection.
- Magic: The Gathering: We dive into the world of MTG! Whether you're opening your first booster pack or fine-tuning a Commander deck, we offer hands-on help with deck building and strategic gameplay.
No experience? No problem! We welcome absolute beginners and hardcore game geeks alike. Bring your own games and cards, or play using our club gear. Come join the fun!
ADVISOR: Paul Geary
BOOK CLUB - Grade 9-12*
Students will be reading various books across genres of their choosing, with club-advisor approval. Once a month, students will meet to discuss and dissect the monthly book-club choice. Students will be provided an opportunity to obtain a library card throughout this club. The goal of this club is to encourage student-led literacy and create a space that highlights a love for reading!
ADVISORS: Ms. Kiehl, Ms. Nolan, Ms. Mayer
BLACK STUDENT UNION*
This committee focuses on the celebration of diversity, encourages the practice of equity, helps to build understanding among all SOTA students, and works to actively engage our school community to create pathways to freedom and justice for all people. SOTA is dedicated to affirming the lives of black children, who represent the majority of our students, and to promote understanding that will strengthen the SOTA community as a whole.
ADVISORS: Katharine Majak
CHESS TEAM/CLUB – Grades 7-12*
SOTA students play chess with other team-mates and teams from area schools and compete in area competitions. This exciting game of skill, strategy and concentration provides an excellent opportunity for students to develop focus and academic discipline.
ADVISOR: Kristal Thoombs
DANCE CLUB
Dance Club is run by the senior dance dance majors under the guidance of the dance department faculty . This club is open to all students in all grades . The club meets to gather all together to discuss topics of importance and interest. It affords students time to discuss opportunities for master classes, field trips, class collaborations, performances, issues around hot button topics and just to get to know each other !!!
ADVISOR: Bridget Bell
DIGITAL MEDIA CLUB
Students gather in the computer lab to learn a variety of digital art making skills in a self-directed fashion. On occasion, students participate in group projects that help build necessary basic skills to enable them to expand their digital art making skills. Students participate in animation, digital drawing, graphic design, and other concepts while utilizing the Adobe creative suite and other apps. The club has a wish list with plans to organize fundraisers for years to come.
ADVISOR: Kay Nowicki
DRAMA PRODUCTIONS – Grades 7-12*
You may participate in any SOTA Drama production by auditioning and being selected as a cast member. The shows are open to students in all grade levels. The Middle School production takes place in late spring and is comprised solely of students in Grades 7-9. All students may audition; being a Drama major is not a requirement.
ADVISORS: SOTA Drama Department
Drone Club*
Purpose of the club:
Ready to take flight? Join us for the after-school Drone Club and discover the exciting world of drone technology! Whether you want to learn how to fly, fix, code, or even compete, this club has something for everyone. Bring your own or use one of ours. Join our google classroom with code: dhh6zgi
ADVISOR: Paul Geary
GARDENING CLUB - Grades 9-12*
Students will learn basic gardening skills. Our activities include starting flowers and vegetables from seed, planting and maintaining flower and vegetable beds, maintaining the courtyard pond, harvesting plants and planning a winter activity. We will fertilize, water, and prune the plants as needed. After the last frost we will bring plants outside to grow in our custom-made container garden. Students will be able to take plants home at the end of the school year to maintain over the summer. At different times of the year, we will have celebrations and harvest food we have grown and cook the food during club meetings.
Use code imiwh3u to join the Google Classroom.
ADVISORS: Katharine Kays and Michael Murphy
GENDER SEXUALITY ALLIANCE – Grades 7-12*
This is a support group for LGBTQIA+ students and their allies. Meetings are held bi-weekly. The club focuses on building community through education, while raising awareness and support for a safer and more inclusive school. Each school year, the club hosts multiple events including Trans Day of Remembrance, Day of Silence and Pride. The club also has partnerships with multiple Arts entities throughout Rochester, including the Memorial Art Gallery and ImageOUT Film Festival. Participation is optional.
ADVISOR: Meagan Harris, Matt Meteyer, Jeremy Morrow, Ashley Perez, Julie Rosette
GUITAR CLUB*
Looking to improve your playing, jam with others, or pick up an instrument for the first time? The Guitar & Bass Club is the place for you! We welcome players of all experience levels—from absolute beginners taking their first steps to advanced players looking to collaborate and share techniques. Both guitarists and bassists are welcome!
We meet every other Thursday in the Band Room (see the google classroom page for specific dates). Don't worry if you don't own an instrument yet—you're welcome to bring your own guitar/bass or use our available club gear. Come expand your repertoire, pick up new tips, and make great music together! You can find us in the Band room. Join our Google classroom with code w7ibb6l3
Advisor: Paul Geary
JUNIOR / SENIOR CLASS CLUB*
This group helps plan all senior and junior activities. They pick the theme for prom, help with fundraising for senior events, and help plan the celebrations for senior year.
Advisor: Katharine Majak
LITERARY MAGAZINE - LAMBENT – Grades 7-12
Our school’s literary magazine, Lambent, features student created short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and photography. Accepts annual submissions from students in grades 7-12. The Lambent is published in May or June.
ADVISORS: Bradley Craddock, Marcy Gamzon
MASTERMINDS – Grades 9-12
Not Currently Active. MasterMinds is the academic challenge team similar to College Bowl. The game is played with a team of four students who answer toss-up questions and then receive bonus questions if the toss-up is answered correctly. Questions cover the areas of history, literature, science, music, art, pop culture and current events. School of the Arts competes in League 2 in the Greater Rochester area. There are six monthly meets in the season, followed by the playoffs in the spring. This year we have both a varsity and junior varsity team. To follow our team standings check the Democrat and Chronicle or visit the MasterMinds website at www.newyorkrminds.com.
ADVISOR:
MATH LEAGUE – Grades 7-12
Monroe County Math League (MCML) provides a venue for students from schools in the Monroe County area to participate in monthly challenging math competitions after school during October through February. Each monthly competition involves challenging math problems related to the five topics for the given month. These meets improve creative problem-solving skills and boost student confidence in Math. The top 15 mathletes from School of the Arts are invited to participate in the county meet sometime in March. The season culminates with the top 35 students from the county being invited to attend NYSML, the state competition, usually in April. Meets are once per month from October to February and optional practice sessions are offered prior to each meet.
ADVISOR: Angela Fixsen & Pratima Kumar
MODEL UNITED NATIONS – Grades 9-12*
The Model United Nations Club is open to any student in Grades 9-12. It is customary for members to meet on designated Thursday afternoon after-school in the fall. In the winter, students prepare for conferences that are held in November and March. Students who are interested in learning about the next conference should contact the advisor, preferably during Period 1. Actual meeting dates to prepare for the March conference will be announced at a later date. The advisors may also meet privately, by prior arrangements, with any student interested in knowing what actually goes on at a Model United Nations Conference. Who is likely to join Model UN? Students who think they would enjoy learning about another country’s issues and politics are ideal. These “representatives” change from researchers to actors if they decide to make a presentation, but they can also choose a low-key “listening” and “consulting” role, as they take regular breaks to discuss the hot issues of the day with the representatives of other nations. Students who are intrigued should see one of the advisors. They can attend a meeting at SOTA and ask the veteran participants to describe the excitement found at a Model United Nations Conference, and the opportunity, as well to meet students from many other parts of New York State.
ADVISORS: James Tillotson, Rose Mayer
MOSAICS - Grades 9-12*
Mosaics focuses on fostering diversity, cultural awareness, inclusion, and social justice within our school community. The club organizes activities like cultural celebrations, awareness campaigns, community and school events, and field trips - all to promote unity, understanding, and positive change
ADVISORS: Karen Nolan, Julie Rosette
PODCAST CLUB*
Podcast club provides an opportunity for all SOTA students to meet and share their voice through the art of podcasting. We typically meet weekly to record and produce a podcast episode and post it on Spotify. Our mission is to empower the voices of our diverse and dynamic high school community by discussing topics of interest (such as music, video games, food, etc.) and current events. We aim to foster creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills by providing a platform for students to explore, produce, and share their unique stories and ideas through podcasting.
Listen to past episodes at https://tinyurl.com/SOTAPodcast
For more information, read our Mission and Values Statement
ADVISOR: Joshua Bassette
ROC RESPONDERS*
Students who are trained in restorative language, restorative questions, and active listening be assistants in interactions with peers- not mediators, simply helping peers think of how situations could be handled restoratively.
ADVISORS: Karen Nolan, Julie Rosette
SOTA IMAGE MAKERS PHOTO CLUB – Grades 7-12*
The objective of the Photo Club is to help the students master the art of making a picture, not just taking a picture. It is never our intention to make images that would be later repaired in Photoshop. Students learn to control each step of the creative process of exposure, composition, framing the image by cropping in-camera, point of view, point of focus, depth of field, color temperature of light and angle of view are some of the key elements covered each year.
ADVISORS: Kelly Watson
SOTA SUPERSTARS*
SOTA Superstars is a school-wide incentive that rewards our students for aspiring to high standards. It acknowledges academic excellence as a priority. It is also inclusive of other variables that are necessary for student success. As such, students who meet the designated criteria for SOTA Superstars will be treated to a special catered luncheon. This luncheon will occur three (3) times a year after marking Periods 1, 2, 3.
ADVISOR: Brian Chandler
SOTA SPORTS -- Grades 7-12*
Sign-up sheets for sports are posted in the locker rooms, gym, and around the school. You must have a 2.0 overall grade average, 90% school attendance, and good citizenship to participate. Seasonal meetings are held with students interested in participating in each season’s sports. Every student involved in a sports activity must have a physical examination within the past year on file in the nurse’s office, along with a current tetanus shot on record and orders for self-carry medications on file if needed. You can check the status of your physical at any time from the nurse. In addition to eligibility, a currently physical is required.
CONTACT: Rick Roche
SKI CLUB – Grades 7-12*
Students enjoy skiing on Bristol Mountain on Friday evenings for a total of six trips, including a full day on the slopes to be determined. SOTA students will travel to and from Bristol on a bus to participate in this winter activity.
ADVISOR: Jimmy Hartmann
THE SOTA YEARBOOK – ARTIS – Grades 7-12
Artis is a Latin word meaning “of the arts.” Our yearbook documents the events and happenings at School of the Arts each year. Students are involved in designing, creating and producing the yearbook. Application for participation may be required.
The goal of this club is to give students a voice when it comes to how they are represented in their yearbook. Students meet at least twice a month to discuss yearbook design such as theme, pages, images, and graphic design elements. Students volunteer to run fundraisers with the goal of receiving cheaper or even free yearbooks. The club allows High school students to mentor and lead middle school aged students as they work together to create a unified yearbook that represents the current student body and their interests.
ADVISOR: Kay Nowicki
SPEECH AND DEBATE – FORENSICS – Grades 9-12*
SOTA is a member of the Genesee Valley Forensic League (G.V.F.L.), an organization of secondary school Speech and Debate Teams in the Rochester, NY area. Through interscholastic contests in debate and in public speaking, the G.V.F.L. secondary school students to compete in tournaments and exercise their speaking skills. Member teams compete at half day tournaments on Saturdays approximately twice a month. There are seven different categories G.V.F.L. competitors may participate in including: Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Declamation, Original Oratory, Oral Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking and National Tournament. Students become eligible for state and national tournaments as well. The Speech and Debate Team welcomes students in Grades 9 – 12 throughout the year, and meet on Tuesday after-school to practice and prepare for tournaments.
ADVISOR: Marcy Gamzon
STUDENT COUNCIL– Grades 7-12*
The Student Council is run entirely by SOTA school students and works hard to improve the quality of student life at SOTA. Students in grades 7-12 are eligible to participate and run for Student Council. The Student Council is the student’s voice in the school community and is responsible for a variety of activities including the Talent Show, Spirit Week, SOTA T-shirt Design and First-Generation College Scholarship.
ADVISORS: Grades 7 – 9: Ramon Diaz; Grades 10 – 12: Michael Murphy & James Tillotson
THERAPY DOGS CLUB
The Therapy Dogs club members act as a liaison between our visiting furry friends and the classes they will visit. They meet monthly - either during lunch or after school to learn about the dogs and their training process.
Open to all students grades 7-12. Club members are given small group meet and greet sessions with dogs during lunch and free periods though-out school year. In order to join please send name, grade, free periods and email to: Sherry.Vandermallie@rcsdk12.org
ADVISORS: Sherry Vandermallie
ULTIMATE FRISBEE
ADVISOR Joshua Blumkin
WEIGHTLIFTING CLUB – Grades 7-12*
The Weightlifting Club is an after-school activity. As part of this program of strength training and conditioning, students will have the opportunity to improve their level of fitness through a variety of weight-training exercises. The focus is on proper technique and fostering a lifetime commitment to a healthy level of fitness.
ADVISOR: Brian Chandler
MEETINGS: Tuesday & Thursdays 3:30-4:30 (Weight Room)