Club

Advisor(s)

Description

Blue Notes

Mrs. McLaughlin

Blue Notes is an extracurricular jazz vocal ensemble composed of a select group of choir members who are chosen through auditions in the fall. The group performs at concerts, competitions, and various school functions throughout the year. Students must be a current member of a curricular choir (concert or chamber) as well as maintain good academic standing to be eligible for this group.

Environmental Science 

Mr. Graves

Mrs. Krauss

Members compete with teams from various Cortland County school districts in an annual event, which is sponsored by the Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Students compete in different science skill areas such as determining soil composition and pH level, wildlife and tree identification, and water analysis, among other tasks.

DECA

Mr. Dolson

DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) gives high school students hands-on experience in marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Its goal is to prepare future leaders for successful careers in fields like marketing, management, hospitality, and finance. 177,000 high school students currently participate in DECA.  DECA chapters typically participate in community service projects, business-related challenges and learning experiences, and competitions at regional, state, and national levels. Members practice and fundraise for competitions, and many chapters invite a range of successful guest speakers and mentors to work with the students.  More than 92% of DECA members say their experience empowered them to be effective leaders. Through activities and leadership conferences, DECA gives students countless opportunities to develop leadership skills like communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. These skills will serve you well throughout college and your career.

FFA  

Mrs. Head

FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) is the national organization of, by, and for students enrolled in agri-science or agricultural education. FFA is intra-curricular and originated as a part of the high school agriculture education curriculum. Members should be enrolled in a science and/or agriculture class, but may also participate if he/she has an interest in anything in the broad area of the agricultural and/or environmental sciences. 

FFA activities encourage students to learn leadership and life skills through active participation. Experiences include conducting and taking part in public meetings, problem-solving, entrepreneurship opportunities, agri-science research projects, competitions, travel and community service. Members experience leadership opportunities to improve their personal abilities and career experiences in the agri-science industry and their local communities.

International Club

Mrs. Altmann and Mrs. Henderson 

Jazz Band

Mr. DiGennaro

This is a voluntary instrumental group available to all interested students. It examines and performs all types of jazz, swing, and rock music. Jazz Band participates in exchange programs, school assemblies and concerts, as well as recruiting concerts. Through this group, an opportunity is provided for the interested students to perform, in a serious way, this facet of the American Musical Scene. Jazz Band usually meets on Monday evenings. Membership in Concert Band is required.

Link Crew 

Mrs. Bosch

Mr. Young

Link Crew is a high school transition program that welcomes freshmen and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of their high school experience. Built on the belief that students can help students succeed, Link Crew trains members of the junior and senior classes to be Link Leaders. As positive role models, Link Leaders are motivators, leaders and teachers who guide the freshmen to discover what it takes to be successful during the transition to high school and help facilitate first year success. Students wishing to be Link Leaders need to apply in May for the following year and will be selected based on leadership and citizenship

Parade Band

Mr. DiGennaro

This is easily the most visible group in the music department. Students start rehearsing weekly in May to perform the Memorial Day parade, the Cortland County Dairy parade and the Homer Firemen’s Field Days parade. Playing in the group is a nice way to give back to our supportive Homer community, and is a group that students say they had the most fun. Openings in winds, percussion, and colorguard. Winds and percussion who are in high school are always welcome, but any color guard student grades 4-12 is also welcome.

Men in Black

Mrs. McLaughlin

Men in Black is a co-curricular men’s vocal ensemble that rehearses every Thursday 9th period and performs at concerts, competitions, and various school functions throughout the year. Students must be a current member of a curricular choir (concert or chamber) as well as maintain good academic standing to be eligible for this group.

Musical Theater

Mrs. McLaughlin

Participation in the musical is open to any Homer High School student as long as they sign up, attend required rehearsals, meetings, and abide by the behavior and academic guidelines outlined in the Musical Theater Contract. Students in band may be in the pit orchestra, and any interested student can be a member of the tech crew, costume crew, or cast. Auditions are in late October, rehearsals start after Thanksgiving, and the performances are usually the first weekend of March.

National Honor Society

Mrs. Wallace

The purpose of National Honor Society is: to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service in school and the local community, to promote leadership in students, to develop character in the students of secondary schools. A detailed description of criteria can be found in our student handbook on page 34.

Odyssey Yearbook

Mrs. Evangelista- Perez

The Odyssey staff is composed of any interested students. Students apply in the spring for the type of work they wish to do on the yearbook staff. The entire staff is composed of several smaller staff, each with a specific job. The copy staff writes the material that goes into the yearbook. The production staff does the actual layout and planning of what the book will look like. The ad staff is responsible for financing the book. There are also typing, sports, photography, and business staff, which have respective jobs. Freshmen entering in the fall should see the advisor if they wish to participate in the yearbook staff.

Olympian

Mr. Hatch 

Mr. Massenzio

The Olympian is the student-run newspaper first published on October 3, 1930, as the Homer Academy News. The newspaper staff is headed by a student editor-in-chief who coordinates the overall production of the newspaper and distributes story and photography assignments. Any student interested in contributing on a continuing or occasional basis is welcome to join our staff.

Beginning with the 78th anniversary edition of the Olympian on September 30, 2008, the newspaper became an all-digital publication. In the first full year of creating a digital newspaper, the Olympian staff saved more than 100,000 pages from being needlessly printed and soon after, discarded. The conservation of resources is a valuable example of how organizations, large and small, can reinvent their modes of operation to be more sustainable and responsible. Students with an interest in writing, photography, and/or graphic design are encouraged to join the Olympian staff.  Meetings are held on a monthly basis in room 121.

Pit Band

Mr. DiGennaro

This group provides live music for the spring musical. This includes backing up the singers on stage and underscoring music and scene changes. Students start rehearsing regularly in January and join with the cast and technical portions of the show two weeks before the show opens. The music is the same music played by professional Broadway musicians, so it’s challenging but at the same time fun and rewarding. Interested students in good academic standing must be in a concert band to be eligible.

Ruby Rhythms

Mrs. McLaughlin

Ruby Rhythms is an extracurricular women’s choir comprised of a select group of choir members who are chosen through auditions in the fall. The group performs at concerts, competitions, and various school functions throughout the year. Students must be a current member of a curricular choir and maintain good academic standing to be eligible for this group.

S.A.D.D

Mr. Massenzio

SADD stands for “Students Against Destructive Decisions.” This group plans several activities each year, the most noteworthy of which are the pre-prom safety activities in May.

Shakespearean Society 

Mr. Hubbard

Ms. Cleland

Membership in the Shakespearean Society is an honorary position that recognizes the work done by an individual on theater productions during the school year. Any student may participate in the plays in any form (sets, props, acting, etc.), and membership is voted on by the present members. 

Student Government

Mr. Hatch

Mrs. Webb

The purpose of the Student Government is to enable students to voice their opinions, discuss and suggest solutions to school problems, other school related matters and share new ideas. Student Government acts as a liaison between the students, administration, faculty, and staff. This organization plans student activities and participates in orientation, open house, spirit week, sponsors dances, and also does humanitarian functions. Student Government is open to all interested students. Officers are elected at the end of each school year by students in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades.

Winterguard 

Mrs. Spalding

This extracurricular group participates in competitive winter color guard circuits. The ensemble performs many types of music and annually employs top choreographers and instructors to work with its sections. In return for extra rehearsal time required, extra rewards (such as banquets, award ceremonies, and trips) are planned. Membership is open to all.

Youth in Government

Ms. Giordano

Youth and Government is a nationwide mock state government program for students who have an interest in government. Students in the Legislative Branch will write bills, which are proposed laws, the Judicial Branch decides how the laws will write a brief and argue an appellate case and the Executive Branch,

led by a student elected Governor, will decide whether to sign a bill into law. You could be a part of the Legislative Branch or the Judicial Branch. If those don’t sound interesting, you could be a part of the press which writes articles about the program for the state conference or a lobbyist which persuades the legislators to change their vote. In March, students from all around the state will meet in Albany for a three-day state conference. In Albany, the students will go to the actual capital and debate in the same chambers the state government does. This gives the students a bird’s eye view of what the state government does.