Activity Clubs

Middle School students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of elective extracurricular activity clubs that develop their passions and hone their skills. Student activity clubs coordinate environmental cleanups, sing in Chorus, design mobile apps, sponsor diversity-related events and much more. The clubs allow students to gain leadership experience and have fun while working together. Explore our activity clubs below.

Our campus chapter of Amnesty International works to promote and defend the human rights of people all the over world. Open to grades 6 through 9, the group meets once a week to write letters on behalf of people who are prisoners of conscience. It also works to raise funds to support the organization's worldwide humanitarian efforts. Our combined efforts have resulted in the release of prisoners, the preservation of life and the reunification of families.

The Applied Sciences Club focuses on computers and the software that makes them work. Students explore the basics of computer programming, including making Mac programs and iOS apps, with additional topics based on club members’ interests. The club is open to grades 7 through 9, and no prior experience with programming is necessary.

The Foote School Chorus is a singing ensemble for students in grades 6 through 9. Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience level. The Chorus fosters school spirit and a sense of community by making music together and singing a wide variety of genres and styles. The Chorus performs at major assemblies throughout the year.

The Community Council is an open organization for students in grades 6 through 9. The student-run council partners with the faculty and administration on a variety of initiatives. In addition, the group plans and executes activities for the Middle School and larger school community.

Drama gives seventh and eighth graders the opportunity to be part of a full-length play as actors, crew members, light and sound-board operators or production stage managers. Participants improve their acting skills and have fun being part of a major production in Foote’s black box theater. Recent productions have included The Mousetrap, Treasure Island and one-act plays by Chekhov, A.A. Milne, Moliere and Lucille Fletcher.

Environmental Action Group raises awareness about environmental challenges and how the school community can work toward solving them. The group sponsors a range of activities—from the Dark Day of Enlightenment and movie afternoons to neighborhood cleanups and school recycling initiatives—developing students' advocacy and leadership skills. EAG is responsible for leading the annual Earth Day Assembly and selecting a recipient for Foote’s Environmental Stewardship Award.

F-STAND spreads the message of the importance of being kind and inclusive and treating others with respect. The group is open to grades 7 through 9, and its goal is twofold: to help spread a positive message throughout the school to make Foote an even better place; and to encourage everyone in our community to grow in their understanding of differences of sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, religion, gender, socioeconomic situation, ability and family structure. F-STAND helps students and faculty to become more aware through initiatives in the Lower and Middle Schools that promote inclusivity. The group meets weekly to discuss topics such as stereotypes, prejudice, and identity, as well as current events and school issues. Club members are invited to apply to attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in their ninth grade year. All students are encouraged to attend the CAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference in April.

Footenotes is the school’s literary magazine and welcomes students in grades 6 through 9 who enjoy sharing and promoting student poetry, prose and artwork. Members of the Footenotes editorial staff review literary submissions from all grades. They read, discuss and select pieces of publication, and put together the magazine for publication in the spring. Footenotes has existed as a student-run publication at Foote School since 1931.

Foote Steps, the school’s yearbook, is created by a hardworking group of eighth and ninth graders. Working in small teams that take responsibility for particular sections: sports, activities, faculty, etc. Students take photos and use a desktop publishing program to design pages that create a representation of our school year.

The Foote School Jazz-Rock Ensemble is a truly creative "fusion" group. The band consists of instrumentalists and singers in grades 6 through 9 who love to make music and perform at school gatherings. Rehearsals involve improvisation and student input, resulting in encouraging collaborations that are energizing and fun.

Students in MathCounts work together to solve challenging math problems and prepare for competition with schools around Connecticut. The club offers students in grades 6 through 8 a fun way to enrich math skills and learn new methods of problem solving. Each December, there is a school MathCounts competition, and the top 10 finishers are selected to compete in a regional championship at Yale. From there, high performing students can go on to state and national finals. In the past two years, Foote has finished first and second in the state MathCounts competition.

In Model Congress, students in grades 7 through 9 learn to argue more effectively, learn about formal debate structure, and research and draft bills for consideration at the Packer Collegiate School’s Model Congress Summit in New York City in May. Through this activity, students learn about the formation of U.S. law, develop a greater understanding of causes they believe in, and begin to feel more empowered as emerging citizens. Students experience stimulating interactions and form friendships with other Model Congress participants from the metropolitan New York area.

Orchestra is open to students in grades 4 through 9 who play a string, woodwind, or brass instrument. Orchestra learns and prepares music for a variety of school performances throughout the year. The director is professional violinist Yaira Matyakubova, a faculty member at Music Haven and member of the Haven String Quartet.

SPI is the school’s student-run newspaper. SPI members hone interviewing, writing and storytelling skills while producing editorials, interviews, surveys, sports columns, videogame reviews, photography, cartoons, recipes and puzzles. SPI is published several times each semester for the school community.

Faculty Advisors: Ozler Kayaarasi, Lara Anderson

Each spring, students in Model Congress join peers from New York and Connecticut at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn to debate model legislation. Foote students consistently win accolades for their debate skills and forward-looking legislation.