Science Club: The Fun of Experiments, Minus the Lab Reports

By Emily Bowman ’19

At Montrose, there are several clubs in order to satisfy the large range of interests the students of Montrose School possess. One of Montrose’s older clubs has been resurrected this year as the new Science Club!  This club is run by Mrs. Hofer, Julia Convery ‘19, and myself, Emily Bowman ‘19. The students meet every other Thursday from 3:20 to 4:00 for an exciting experiment along with a quick lesson to understand the chemical processes.

The most recent experiment that this club performed was creating and using invisible ink to make secret messages. Each girl was tasked with bringing one material in. For instance, some girls brought in lemon juice and grape juice. The nine girls then read through the procedure and began the experiment.

If you were to pass by Room 9 while the club was meeting, you would probably hear laughter and possibly loud bang (if you passed by on the day we were crushing a can using atmospheric pressure). Some of the club’s favorite experiments include: forming and setting off a smoke bomb, constructing table top hovercraft, the mentos and coke explosion, and my personal favorite, candy triboluminescence. Overall, Science Club is a fun way to learn science and do experiments you might not be able to do in your ordinary science class.

Julia Convery ‘19, one of the leaders of the club, commented on the club as a whole: “I really enjoy being one of the leaders of Science Club! The girls are always so excited to run experiments and see the outcomes. Their enthusiasm along with the fun experiments makes this experience one I will never forget!”  I agree with Julia. Leading this club this year has been a truly fun and exciting experience and I can’t wait for next year!

Julia and I are saddened that this year has come to an end, but we really enjoyed leading the students through many fun, successful, and educational experiments. However, we are excited for next year because we have new experiments planned, some of which require special technology!

Think about joining Science Clubs next year—you’ll experience the fun of science experiments, but without the lab reports!

JCL: Montrose’s Most Ancient Club

By Julia Convery ’19

One of Montrose’s most ancient yet lesser-known clubs has had a busy year, filled with various activities. Although the club itself may not be that ancient, the activities focus on Ancient and Classical Roman culture. Junior Classical League (JCL) meets every Tuesday in Room 18 from  3:30 to 4:15 under the leadership of Elizabeth Ling ‘18 and Mrs. Demirjian. This club participates in exciting activities such as Certamens (contests), drives, preparing for International Week, and fun things like celebrating Virgil’s birthday with a cake.

One of JCL’s newest and most recent undertaking was collecting goods such as shampoo, lotion and toothpaste to donate to a women’s shelter for Valentine’s Day. Elizabeth Ling ‘18, the leader of the club, describes the activity:  “We bagged the items in February and made hearts that said Amor omnia vincit (Love conquers all) for Valentine’s Day.”  She wants the club to contribute more to the community.  She added, “JCL had not really done anything before that interacted with the surrounding community, so we thought that we should contribute more in the form of a drive.” And they did exactly that. Through this activity, JCL successfully fulfilled their motto: “Learning about the past to impact the future.”

Speaking of the future, Elizabeth disclosed her plans for the future of the club:  “This year has been a very successful year for JCL. I think JCL in the future will aim to hold future drives and participate in more Certamens. We are also looking for more ways to be prominent in Montrose as well.”

Montrose can’t wait to see what this club has planned! Their creative ideas help educate the community about the significance of Roman culture and how it has impacted us and our society.  We’ve enjoyed the delicious Roman cookies they brought in for International Week, along with hearing about their successes in their Certamens. We are excited to see the future activities of this interesting and fun club and hope many join next year!

Elizabeth added: “We really enjoy seeing new faces show up to our meetings and bringing new ideas! The JCL leaders and I would highly encourage 8th graders to join if they think that they might have an interest in Latin or Roman culture in general. So in September, next time you are “just ROMAN” around after school on Tuesday, stop into Room 18 to join JCL!