Clubs and Activities

Academic Challenge Bowl

Open to Grades 7 & 8

Advisor: Holli Englerth

Description: The Academic Challenge Bowl (ACB) is offered as a service through the Gifted & Talented Program at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES; and in partnership with CYPRAS and the Rochester Chess Center. ACB is an academic team competition for students in grades 7 and 8, and is an excellent way to nurture, recognize, and celebrate the academic strengths of students. ACB provides a competitive structure for those students who are academically talented. ACB is structured similarly to MasterMinds, the high school quiz bowl program. There are toss-up questions and bonus questions on a wide variety of subject areas. Matches take place after school at the designated host school. The season consists of eight games plus play-offs leading to a championship match. ACB typically meets during 6A and 7B lunches to practice. A few after-school meetings are possible.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Adventure Club

Art Club

Advisor: Mrs. Brown

Description: Art Club is where students from grades 6-8 come together to brainstorm, discuss, and create art. Activities vary from meeting to meeting, with the opportunity for one large activity or branching out into smaller groups. Possible activities include: pastel drawing, printmaking stamps, season-related activities, sculpture, and more. The Art Club meets once every three weeks, on a Wednesday or Thursday. We meet in Room 216 and all meetings are announced over the Morning Bark.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Bel Canto

Best Buddies

Advisor: Mr. Herbert and Mrs. Fay

Description: Best Buddies works to spread the mission of friendship, leadership, and inclusion. We do this by pairing students in one-to-one friendships with their peers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Along with friendships, we promote inclusion and acceptance through leadership training so that students are empowered to make a positive impact on their community.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Book Store

Chess Club

Community Service Club

Advisor: Mrs. VanBenthuysen

Description: Students facilitate and/or participate in various activities and projects to help within the Rochester community. Past projects include food drives, Salvation Army bell ringing in December, planting and maintaining the BRMS vegetable and flower gardens, an annual Valentine's fundraiser to benefit the American Heart Association, as well as other activities throughout the year. Meetings are generally once a month after school; some activities are on weekends. All BRMS students can participate as often as they would like while having the opportunity to earn valuable Community Service hours.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Cooking Club

Cubing Club

Debate Club

Open to Grades 7 & 8

Advisor: Mr. Cutaia

Description: The Debate Team is organized for the purpose of improving a student's ability to research and organize information, think critically, and speak in public. Team members will learn the basics of argumentation and debate through regular team practices and debates. The Debate Team creates educational opportunities for all 7th and 8th grade students who are interested in politics, social change and their community. Meetings typically take place during 7A/7B lunch periods.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Drama Club

Dungeons and Dragons Club

Advisor: Mr. Daly

Description: The BRMS Dungeons & Dragons Club is for students interested in playing tabletop role-playing games. In the D&D club, we enjoy the creative experience of collaboratively telling stories, building worlds, teaching new people to play role-playing games, and, of course, having a lot of fun together.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Environmental Club

Advisor: Mrs. Ballard

Description: The Barker Road Environmental Club is made up of a group of students that are concerned about the environment and are committed to learning and raising awareness about environmental issues. They have a desire to reduce negative environmental impacts in their schools, homes, communities, and the world at large. The Environmental Club provides an opportunity where students can learn to take personal responsibility to live sustainably and improve their environmental leadership skills. Students may participate in our Environmental Club by attending meetings and/or by participating in Barker’s recycling efforts.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Games Group

Advisor: TBD

Description: This club is open to the entire Barker Road Middle School Community. The Games Group facilitates social/emotional development and teamwork. Students play various board games or card games and enjoy a snack! The Game Group runs once a month from 2:30-3:30. Snacks generally include goldfish crackers, popcorn, pretzels and sometimes even marshmallows!

Additional Information: [enter link here]

GSA

Horseback Riding Club

Advisor: Mr. Cutaia

Description: Horseback Riding Club: This club will start with an understanding of the history of horses, body anatomy and the variety of horses. The first half of the club will be held at meetings after school at BRMS. The culminating activities will conclude at an area horse barn where students will be able to ride horses. Waivers are required for the off-site trips.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Jazz Band

Jazz Ensemble

Jr. Achievement Club

Advisor: Mrs. Sulzbach

Description: Junior Achievement's mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed and to positively impact young people's perceptions of the importance of education, as well as critical life skills. Preparation could involve lessons that promote financial capability, work and career readiness, and business ownership.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Latin Club

Advisor: Mr. Kutny

Description: The BRMS Latin Club gives Latin students the opportunity to explore the legacy of ancient Rome and Latin outside the classroom. The Latin Club meets throughout the year and celebrates its love of all things Roman with games, food, and even cheesy Roman movies. Club members also have the chance to compete against students from other schools in tournaments, mythology contests, and the National Latin Exam.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Literary Magazine

Advisor: Sarah Miller

Description: Do you like to write? Do you like to draw or take pictures from an interesting perspective? Then you should know that we have a literary magazine at our school. Our club meets after school on Fridays and then more frequently as we get our publication ready to print and distribute in June. And even if you can’t make it to our meetings, you can still be a part of it all by submitting your work and being published in our magazine.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Math Club

Advisor: Mrs. Knight

Description: The BRMS Math Club will be meeting on Wednesdays afterschool in room 203. All students are welcome to attend any or all meetings. September - December we will be competing online against schools from across the nation. January - June we will be solving challenging problems, playing math games, and learning how to solve a variety of math puzzles. Students do not need to commit to coming every week.

Morning Bark Show

Musical

Newbery Club

Advisor: Mrs. Read

Description: The Newbery Club is for any student who loves to read! Club members have exclusive access to a select list of 10 books published in the current year. The club acts as a mock Newbery Selection Committee, considering the official Newbery criteria as we discuss and evaluate our books. In January/February, club members vote on our mock Newbery award winner. In addition to our meetings, we also utilize Microsoft Teams as a virtual space for book discussions and activities. This club is a collaboration with Calkins Road MS, Willink MS, and Johanna Perrin MS. BRMS PTSA funding helps support the Newbery Club each year.

Club Expectations:

Attend as many meetings as you can. It's ok to miss a few as long as you are reading and participating in book discussions on the Newbery Club Teams page.
Read all (or most) of the required books.
Share ideas and opinions respectfully & with an open mind.

Additional Information: N ewbery Club Meeting Schedule

Odyssey of the Mind

Advisor: Ms. Carmel

Description: Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program comprised of teams of five to seven students and an adult coach that work outside of school to solve a specific problem. The work is done entirely by students with adult supervision only. Meetings occur after school or on weekends on a schedule determined by the coach and the team. This program teaches creative problem-solving, spontaneity, and teamwork and culminates with a competition against other teams in the same age group within our region.

Additional Information: PCSD Odyssey of the Mind Sway

Percussion Ensemble

Robotics Club

Science Club

Advisor: Mrs. O'Dea

Description: Science Club is a fun and social way to explore different areas of science through hands-on activities. Science Club is open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. We meet 1-2 times a month to complete activities in all areas of science. Come when you can; it is not required to attend every session. Listen to the Morning Bark for meeting dates or email Mrs. O'Dea if you would like to be added to the Science Club Teams Page.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Science Olympiad

Advisor: Mr. Sacchitella

Description: Science Olympiad is a competitive club. Pairs of students work together in two or three science-related events. Science Olympiad competes at the Regional level against other schools. Medals are awarded at the end of the competitions for each event. There are three categories of events that kids can participate in: building, scientific process, and knowledge. Top teams move on to compete at the state level.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Select Chorus

Open to Grade 6

Advisor: Mrs. Kemp

Description: The 6th Grade Select Chorus is a select choral ensemble for all 6th graders that meets every Tuesday after school. This select group performs at a higher level than the choral curricular groups that meet during the school day. Members are required to attend all rehearsals and participate in two concerts.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Sign Language Club

Advisor: TBD

Description: This club is open to the entire Barker Road Middle School community. The Sign Language Club facilitates social/emotional development as well as learning about basic sign language. The club involves topics such as Deaf culture, and understanding hearing impairments. Guest speakers, such as Barker Road alumni and local college students, are often scheduled to come throughout the year. The Sign Language Club runs once a month from 2:30 - 3:30.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Ski Club

Advisor: Mr. Sacchitella

Description: Ski Club provides both novice and experienced snow sports enthusiasts the opportunity to go to Bristol Mountain six times a year to experience winter at its finest. All are welcome. The Ski Club meets right after school and arrives back at the Barker at 9:15 pm. Registration takes place in early October.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Student Council

Advisor: Mr. Sacchitella and Mr. Cutaia

Description: Barker Road Student Council is a club that’s goal is to positively impact the school culture at BRMS through our student-run government. They accomplish this by promoting activities that model our BRMS core principles. The Student Council is looking for students who want to further develop their creativity, public speaking, decision-making and cooperation. Members of the Student Council help with our annual fundraising campaign. This group is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Meetings typically take place on the first and third Friday’s of the month. Students interested will participate in an election to obtain a position in the club. The BRMS student council is extremely active. Our annual fundraiser supports a great deal of our work. We feel strongly that every student at Barker Road benefits from all that the Student Council offers.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Viking Vocalists

WEB Leaders

Open to Grade 8

Advisor: Mrs. Ballard and Mr. Sacchitella

Description: WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) is a student leadership group of 8th graders. Their primary focus is to help new students to Barker Road transition into the culture and expectations of Barker Road Middle School. Becoming a WEB leader is a coveted position for our eighth graders. These are the “go-to” students when help is needed. One example is WEB leaders assist during Open House to help direct parents. This club is a very influential group at Barker Road. To participate as a WEB leader, one must apply and be nominated by staff. A selection committee works hard to have a diverse and responsible WEB Leader group.

Additional Information: [enter link here]

Wind Ensemble

Yearbook Club

Advisor: Mrs. Read

Description: At Barker Road, we not only publish a yearbook, we create one. We take our yearbook creation seriously and pack it full of amazing photos and stories that capture our Barker spirit. Each year student editors are selected, and they run the show! We generally meet two days a week and those days vary to help accommodate as many staffers as possible. We also may meet more frequently as deadlines approach.

Want to be a part of this amazing process? It's not easy. It takes hard work and commitment to create a yearbook. Think you've got what it takes? Come to the informational meeting in October to learn more. Listen to the Morning Bark in October to learn when that meeting will be. If you choose to join the yearbook staff, you will be added to the Teams page.

Additional Information: Purchase your yearbook here!