Club day was Sept. 22, and there are a total of 104 clubs this year. Several of these clubs are new, and The Mirador has featured some that may interest Miramonte students, including a new culture club, education club, and language club.      

Island Culture Club

Sophomore Asher Patel and Senior Keawe Parker created the Island Culture Club to facilitate exploration and discussions of island culture. “I wanted to start my club because after seeing that ethnic studies got canceled, I felt like Miramonte should have more representation of other cultures, and I saw that some other cultures got that, but that island nations were not being represented. My friend and I, who is also an islander, wanted to represent them,” Patel said.  The club focuses on learning about island culture through making and sharing ethnic foods, like Spam Musubi, Sushi, and Tert Di Preimu. “I used ethnic foods because there’s so much more background to how they are made and what items and tools are used. Also, I knew people would want to join a club for ‘free food’ so I used that as an opportunity to drive students towards our club,” Parker said. Because they both have islander ancestry, Patel and Parker have a personal connection to this topic. “I’m Hawaiian, Tongan, and Samoan; so mainly Polynesian. I thoughtbecause it’s my last year, why not share my culture with the students at Miramonte? I would be very excited to also hear about other islanders’ backgrounds and just get a gist of where they come from and what they eat,” Parker said. Other culture clubs students may be interested in include Latinx Unidos, Food and Culture Club, and Unity in Diversity. Meeting times are yet to be decided, but the club presidents plan to have four or five meetings a month and emphasize that non-islanders are welcome to come if they are interested!  

Finance Club

Hoping to fill a gap in some Miramonte students’ knowledge, sophomore Antong Cao has created the Finance Club, where students can learn how the stock market and the economy works. “I decided to start Finance Club because I feel like a lot of people our age are kind of uncertain about the stock market and don’t really know how to get started, and they want there to be an accessible way that they can learn about it,” Cao said.  She plans to use stock trading simulations, as well as basic lessons on how the economy operates, to educate others and herself about finance, “I was planning to start everyone off with ‘paper stocks’, which are stocks that aren’t purchased with real money, so people can practice trading without consequences. I also want to talk about the history of finance and possibly some important people in finance history,” Cao said. Cao says that students of any knowledge level are welcome to join the club. One interested student is sophomore Rona Sorokin, who has long been interested in the business-oriented part of the economy and wants to expand her knowledge. “I did a few projects in middle school about finance and business, and I thought I should pursue it more.  I also want to learn about the stock market in Finance club because it’s very complex and confusing,” Sorokin said. Additional education clubs are STEM Club, Math Club, and Computer Science Club. Meetings will be once a month in room 185.

Spanish Club     

Sophomores Nicole Guo and Koko Banerjee are creating the Spanish Club, for students to learn about and celebrate Spanish culture. While Miramonte already had Latin Club and French Club, Spanish club is a new and welcome addition to the language clubs. Guo herself has been taking the language since she was in kindergarten and is in Spanish 3 this year. “As I’ve kept learning Spanish and being in Spanish classes, I keep wanting to learn more, not just about the language but also about the history of the language,” Guo said. She wanted a place to learn more about Spanish culture and share the experience with other students. “Last year I wanted to join a language club but wasn’t really able to fully go to one and participate because of COVID-19, so this year I decided to start one with my friends,” Guo said. The club will have activities including celebrating Spanish holidays, watching movies about Spanish culture and history, and practicing the language together. Meetings will be every other Tuesday during lunch, in room 252.