Since last year, SIS clubs have hosted trial meetings shortly after the start of school for new and returning members to gain insight into the purpose of the club, the activities that are offered, and an overview of the club’s bylaws. The 2025-’26 year club trials have seen new changes on top of what was previously done, especially with the introduction of six new clubs and an overhaul of the attendance policy that now requires returning members to attend the trial meetings.
For all clubs, the primary goal is to attract members using the trial meetings, as for new members, the trial meetings offer a valuable timeframe in which they can explore their choices and narrow down their interests.
“Science club is about community value,” Geunhyung Hong (12), Science Club president, said. “The science department is interwoven throughout the school, and we hope to use this to show our passion for science. This year, we plan to do a demonstration of a redox reaction. We also want to go beyond the three natural sciences and mix theory with application.”
Other clubs also follow a similar approach, allowing new members to interact with the executive team and gain a better understanding of their interested club before joining.
Before the club trial system was implemented two years ago, the new member sign-up system relied solely on the club fair, with potential members signing up with information only from the fair rather than after the three-week trial period. The trial system was implemented to solve the issue of joining clubs that were underinformed about their activities and bylaws.
Now, a new change in attendance policy warrants returning members to attend the trial meetings, a contrast to last year, when students who knew what clubs they wanted to join could skip the trial meetings. The new policy states that returning members who do not attend will be given an unexcused absence from the club unless they are visiting another trial meeting of a club they are seriously considering, and must be present for at least one trial meeting to join the club after the end of the trial period.
“Some of the clubs last year said that it was difficult to simulate a regular meeting without members,” Chris Del Vecchio, HS Vice Principal, said. “While there were some clubs that could cater to new members better without all the returning members, the overall consensus was that there needed to be a unified policy for attendance. After voting, it was determined that for a unified policy, members should attend the trial meetings.”
The HS Administrative team hopes that this policy change will allow new members to experience what a typical club meeting could look like. As the fourth year approaches since the formal club feedback loop was established, the HS admin team expects the club system to be continuously refined and improved with direct input from the students.
“I think it’s an effective way to let students recognize what they want and acts as an opportunity for students to recognize what they want to do in the future,” James Cho (9), aspiring member of multiple clubs, said. “They are fun because of the activities we do, but also because we can gain information about what we can do in the future and expect.”
The club trials continue to be an opportunity for exploration and fun for new and returning members. With the club trials concluding last week, the executive teams of each club and both new and returning members are required to fill out the final selection form before Sept. 2. The official club meetings will commence on Sept. 3.