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    Columbia Middle School

    Program of Extracurricular Activities - Interscholastic Sports
    (Participation Fees Apply)

    Performing Arts

    Jazz Band with Mr. Colanari 6, 7, 8 All Year After school
    Meets at least twice a week during and after school and gives performances in school, throughout the community, and at music festivals. The Columbia Middle School Jazz Ensemble offers students the opportunity to perform music from the 1930s and 40s Big Band Era as well as the contemporary music of today. As an active performing ensemble, this group performs at various events such as Columbia Middle School Graduation and Sixth Grade Orientation. We have given performances for the Seniors Citizens of Berkeley Heights, toured the three elementary schools in Berkeley Heights, performed at the High Note Festival at Dorney Park, and we perform at the Spring and Winter Concerts. 

     

    Chorus with Mr. Wroblewski 7, 8 All Year EP

    The Seventh and Eighth Grade Chorus draws it membership from all seventh and eighth grade boys and girls interested in singing. No previous experience is required. Rehearsals occur during opportunity period twice each week. The group performs twice a year during the Winter and Spring Concerts.

     

    Vocal Ensemble with Mr. Wroblewski 7, 8 All Year After School 

    The Vocal Ensemble is an auditioned group of seventh and eighth grade students. In order to audition, students must be a member of either the Seventh and Eighth Grade Chorus or the Boys' Chorus. Rehearsals are held after school one day each week. The ensemble performs twice a year during the Winter and Spring Concerts.

     

    Drummers Club with Mr. Colaneri 6, 7, 8 All Year After school 

    Meets at least twice a week during and after school, gives performances in school, throughout the community, and at music festivals. An outgrowth of this ensemble is the Steel Pan Ensemble. The Columbia Middle School Percussion Ensemble dedicates itself to playing any instrument that you can hit, shake or scrape. 

    Students will be exposed to new percussion instruments and have the opportunity to be featured in an advanced performing ensemble. Music selected for this ensemble ranges from popular to contemporary percussion literature. This ensemble is open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders who have displayed an advanced level of playing for their age level. Ensemble members are teacher appointed. This ensemble meets after school and during "go-to lessons".

     

    Guitar Club with Mr. Clayton and Dr. Sempepos 6, 7, 8 Meets 1 time a week during EP. Exact date to be announced in early fall. 

    All levels are welcome to join and no prior experience is needed. Members will have access to the acoustic guitars in the orchestra room or can bring in their own guitar.  Each session students work on learning new chords, scales, and chords. Students typically find ways to jam all together regardless of level. The guitar club typically supports the orchestra and band during concerts and usually plays a song at the 8th grade graduation.

     

     

    School Clubs

    Art Club with Mr. Lanni 6, 7, 8 All Year After school
    Designed to meet on a weekly basis, the Art Club schedule may involve alternating weeks to allow for groups larger than can be accommodated in one lab setting. Students are encourage to work on group projects, individual pieces or club designed assignments for the good of the school. Students should have an interest in art, but individual talent is not a factor for membership. All are welcome.

     

     

    Cross Country Club with Mr. Gulbin 6, 7, 8 Spring After school
    The Running Club was developed as an alternative activity/exercise for students who are limited to only a couple of fall sports. This will include some elementary running skills, distance recording and fitness games to create some interest in running cross-country.

    Our goal: That the runners that pass through our program develop in the following way:

    • Athletes will realize that cross-country is not only a sport, but also a lifetime activity decreasing the rate of obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes.
    • Success is being the best they can be every day.
    • They develop a love of the sport, or at least an understanding and appreciation for cross-country. 
    • Leave our program with a good work ethic, a feeling that things worth having are worth working hard for.
    • Learn to work cooperatively with other teammates.
    • Instill self-confidence with what they have accomplished during the season.
    • Hopefully, this exposure will create an excitement about running, attracting many more students to pursue cross-country at the high school level. 

     

    E.Sports Club with Mr. Karl and Mr. Riley 6, 7, 8 All Year After School 

    The CMS Esports Club is an after school program for students who are interested in competitive gaming in a team environment. Opportunities will be provided for design and support roles as well.

     

    French Club with Ms. Cesario 6, 7, 8 All Year, during and after school

    The French club is open to all students interested in learning more about French culture. Students who are not enrolled in French are also welcome to join. The French club meets twice a month, once during school, and once after school. During our school meetings, students will learn about various topics associated with Francophone culture. During our after school meeting, students will meet in the CMS life skills classroom to learn how to make traditional Francophone dishes and then eat them! Field trips are also sometimes arranged for club members, and in the month of November, French club students will participate in special events associated with National French Week. Events include the National Kahoot Trivia Contest and a Chocolate Mousse Bake Off. 

     

    Future Film Makers Club with Mr. Lanni and Mr. Riley 6, 7, 8 All Year After School
    The Future Film Makers is an after school group allowing students to write, create and develop their very own films. The students use their story-telling skills with the available communication technology of today. They are challenged to tell a story in only 15 seconds. The finale to all of this hard work is the annual 15 Second Film Festival held each spring. Here we celebrate the creativity of our students as they show their films to an audience in grand fashion complete with red carpet and popcorn.

      

    Golf Club with Mr. Gulbin 6, 7, 8 Spring After school
    Whether you enjoy golf, or would like to just give it a try, this is an excellent place to be each spring. This club will afford you the opportunity to learn the basics of grip, alignment, stance and posture, swing fundamentals and athletic shift.

     

    Math Club with Mrs. Heller 6, 7, 8 

    Meets Mondays twice a month after school.   We will practice problem solving skills and techniques to compete in local and national math contests.  We participate in (AMC8) American Mathematical Competitions in November and Mathcounts in February.  Contest or not being part of the math club will definitely improve your math skills.  All are welcome!

     

    Newspaper Club with Mr. Karl, and Ms. Tracey 6, 7, 8 All Year After school
    Newspaper Club publishes several papers a year and is open to students in 6-8th grade. Students investigate, create, and publish their own news stories. It meets every other week from September through June.

     

    Photography Club with Mr. Lanni 6, 7, 8 All year during the second lunch period on the first day 2 of the week. Learn to improve your photography and take better pictures. Take photos of school activities and events. 

     

    Robotics Club with Mr. Clayton 6, 7, 8 This club meets 3 times a week (2 days after school and 1 day during EP) From September to November. Exact days TBD. Students create a team of up to 10 members that compete in the First Lego League. Each year CMS sends two teams from the club to represent Berkeley Heights in the FLL competition. In addition to building a robot that solves challenges on a game board, teams also develop a project in which they solve a problem related to the theme of the current season. Students engage in STEAM skills as their teams navigate the season. All teams will have a chance to attend an inhouse competition against other school as part of the selection process for the FLL events. 

    School Store with Ms. Siebelts and Ms. Jensen 6, 7, 8 School store will meet almost every Day 4 EP with Mrs. Siebelts and Mrs. Jensen. We love to have students help make decisions about products to purchase and then sell to our Columbia Middle School students. We work as a team to open and close up the store. We need your help in advertising and highlighting products that you think will sell! Also, you get a school store discount for working.  You will also be given the responsibility of helping customers decide on items of interest, and checking them out.

    Science Club with Mr. Jendrek 6, 7, 8 All Year After school
    Science Club meets every other Thursday from 3:00-4:00 and is available for any student in grades 6-8. In the science club students complete labs involving biology, earth science, and physics, and general science topics.  Club members will also design and implement projects to help CMS go green. 

    Spanish Club with Mrs. Hetherington 6, 7, 8 All Year After school
    The Spanish Club is open to All Students 6 - 8 grades. We currently meet every other Tuesday from 3 - 4 pm. We explore Spanish Cooking, Spanish Music, Spanish Theatrics, Spanish Arts & Crafts, and Spanish Games.

    Table Tennis Club with Mr. Healey 6, 7, 8 Spring After School

    The table tennis club will include a combination of competitive play, free play & fun games.  The CMS Table Tennis Club will provide the students with a sense of community and inclusiveness, studies have also shown that being social is great for a students physical and mental health and table tennis clubs are a great venue to be social and sharing a common interest with other students is also a positive thing.

     

    T.W.I.S.T. Club with Mrs. Tota 6, 7, 8 All Year After School 

    TWIST meets every other Thursday from 3:15-4:00 and offers 6-8th grade girls the opportunity to explore topics in science, math and technology in a fun setting. Students will work together to solve problems and come to better understand the world.

     

    Volleyball Club with Mr. Healey 6, 7, 8 Fall After School

    The CMS Volleyball Club will be a balance of; fun, socialization & competition while playing the game of volleyball. 

    Volleyball is also a popular recreational activity enjoyed by more than 37 million people in the U.S. (more than any team sport but basketball) and more than 800 million people globally, making it the world's most popular participant sport.  Volleyball is a great sport for students who do not enjoy contact sports and is also the perfect competitive, non contact co - ed sport.

     

    Writing Club with Mrs. Healey for grades 6, 7, 8.  The club enjoys reading and writing and produces an annual poetry magazine.

     

    Yearbook Club with Ms. Czerniak 8th Grade All Year During EP/Lunch (Day 4) with Mrs. Czerniak
    A group of 8th graders looking to get creative and design this year’s Yearbook from cover to cover to include student photography and artwork! Club members will be considered Editors of the yearbook creating templates and designing layouts for this year’s publication. Meetings will be held during 8th grade EP/Lunch periods on Day 4. If a student cannot make a meeting, it’s okay - just communicate with Mrs. Czerniak and we will coordinate what does work. This is a free club for 8th grade students.

     

    Interscholastic Athletics

    Cheerleading 7, 8 Winter After school Daily
    After competitive tryouts, students chosen for cheerleading meet daily to learn the routines of the Columbia Middle School cheer team. Cheerleading includes practice as well as cheering during home basketball games. Emphasis is placed on teaching the fundamentals of the sport, skill progression, and safety. Tryouts begin in November. 

     

    Boy’s/Girl’s Basketball 7, 8 Winter After school Daily
    Interscholastic athletic teams meet daily and compete against other middle school teams in Union County. Emphasis is placed on teaching the fundamentals of the sport, skill progression, and team strategy. Both basketball teams practice daily after school and usually have 2-3 games a week. These teams have a tryout program that takes place in November. 

     

    Girl’s Softball/Boy’s Baseball 7, 8 Spring After school Daily
    Interscholastic athletic teams meet daily and compete against other middle school teams in Union County. Emphasis is placed on teaching the fundamentals of the sport, skill progression, and team strategy. Both baseball and softball teams practice daily after school and usually have 2-3 games a week. These teams have a tryout program that takes place in March. 

     

    Girl’s/Boy’s Soccer 7, 8 Fall After school Daily
    Interscholastic athletic teams meet daily and compete against other middle school teams in Union County. Emphasis is placed on teaching the fundamentals of the sport, skill progression, and team strategy. Both soccer teams practice daily after school and usually have 2-3 games a week. These activities generally have a tryout the first week of school. 

     

    Wrestling 6, 7, 8 Winter After school Daily
    After tryouts, students chosen for wrestling meet daily along with the students from Deerfield School in Mountainside and are scheduled for a season of competitive matches.