Conant clubs you might have missed

Are you still looking for a club or group where you can form lasting friendships? What about a place to just destress after a long day of school? Clubs are a great place to do all that while also gaining skills and having fun. While clubs like Student Council, Conant Theatre, and Math Team likely sound familiar to most, Conant is also home to many unique and lesser known clubs that are looking for new members.

Grill Club

Salvatore DeFranza

A grill club member cooks sausages. Photo courtesy of Salvatore DeFranza, ’22.

One of the new clubs at Conant this year is Grill Club. Teachers David Moravek and Timothy Harte formed Grill Club in hopes of bringing the Conant community together. The club teaches grilling techniques, grills food for other club meetings, and shares recipes, all while building a community. 

“We just wanted student involvement, and to get people [involved] through food and gatherings, especially [during] COVID,” Grill Club President Salvatore DeFranza, ‘22, said. 

This year, the club will participate in Illinois’ inaugural Pork and Pigskins Championship sanctioned by the IHSA. The competition consists of 78 high schools from various districts that hope to craft the best pork chop sandwich. 

Grill Club doesn’t just focus on grilling meat; they are inclusive of students who have specific dietary needs as well. Thanks to the support from Conant Boosters and Jeannette Ardell, Grill Club was awarded a grant, which will be invested in purchasing a vegan-only grill. 

“It comes down to our 3 F’s,” Moravek said. “Food, fellowship, and fun. We make food and we have fun. That’s what we do.”

Grill Club meets every Thursday morning in room 209. Interested students can join the Grill Club Schoology course using the code: 3PVR-QJN9-K7HH8.

Lichen Chan

Chinese Club poses with their 2021 Homecoming decorations. Photo courtesy of Lichen Chan.

Chinese Club

Another lesser known club at Conant is Chinese Club, which offers a laid back environment for those who want to learn new aspects of Chinese culture alongside friends. “Chinese club caters to those who want to learn more about Chinese culture,” club member Maria Rimando, ‘24, said. Some of those new aspects include learning to use the Chinese yo-yo (Diabolo), watching Chinese movies and dramas, and celebrating Chinese festivals like Lunar New Year.

The sponsor is Chinese teacher Lichen Chan, who teaches all levels of Chinese at Conant.

Some members of the club can be seen performing at Conant’s International Fair, where they perform different performances for Chinese culture, Rimando said. 

Chinese Club meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 3:30 to 4:30 PM in room 228. Students interested in joining can contact Chan at her email [email protected]. 

D&D Club

Another club fairly new to the school is Dungeons and Dragons Club (D&D), a subsidiary of Gaming Club. D&D is a game in which players walk through an imaginative world with their peers while battling monsters, solving puzzles, and reaping rewards. D&D club is where students play this “cooperative storytelling game that has an end goal of having players feel like they are a hero of a story,” club sponsor and Science department chair David Torpe said. 

David Torpe

Students during a D&D meeting. Photo courtesy of David Torpe.

At meetings, club members put their board game skills to the test. Groups of 3-10 students will roll dice and work with the dungeon master to try and successfully complete tasks. Players can become a “Fighter” type character with maxed out physical stats, or a “Rogue” character who has stealth and deception skills. It is in many ways like building skilled characters in video games, but more exciting since people can interact with your friends in person after school. 

Torpe said that there is a greater benefit to joining D&D Club than just being the main character of a story. “One of the best features of the game is that playing is like being in an immersive movie. Students in this club are able to take an hour or two after school saving a [fictional] medieval town, which is often a great relief from the pressures of schoolwork,” Torpe said. 

Any interested students can join the D&D Schoology group using the code: 5MGV-ZGTH-H45G2. Any questions can be sent to the club sponsors: David Torpe, [email protected]; Luke Jenner, [email protected]; and David Moravek, [email protected]. This is only the third year since the club’s formation, so they are always looking for new members!

If none of these clubs suit your interests, you can review the Conant HS Activity Listing for more options.

0