James Logan High School is known for its large variety of rigorous extracurriculars. However, I noticed that no one talks about the best ones to join. So, I will review five extra curricula at James Logan High School that I seriously considered joining and discuss the benefits of these extracurriculars to encourage current and future Colts to join. I will first add a quote regarding the activity, discuss the name of the extracurricular, how the extracurricular works, the skills learned, the difficulty level (ten being the most difficult, one being the least difficult), and the unique opportunities offered with complete transparency.
1. “The worst thing you can drop is your smile” – Anonymous.
I ranked Color Guard as Logan’s best extracurricular that I considered joining. Color Guard is a performing art extracurricular combining flags, facial expressions, fun choreography, and popular music all on one big stage. In Color Guard, you will learn and improve skills like non-verbal communication, self-awareness, concentration, time management, teamwork, commitment, and the willingness to learn and receive constructive criticism. In addition, Color Guard offers basic dance lessons that teach you how to perform using strength in your body. While Color Guard may look easy, it’s far from it. The difficulty level rises to an 8 out of 10 because the long practices after school and the continuous evolution that one will experience in their body strength and stamina can be a real challenge, but not challenging enough to make you want to quit.
Along with hard work comes great reward. Color Guard has a high satisfaction rate of 9 — the daily fellowship and experiences in the Color Guard as a team forge imperishable friendships, and perseverance contributes to Color Guards’ high contentment rate. Yes, Color Guard is physically and timely demanding, but the opportunities granted by James Logan’s Color Guard are endless. Further, Color Guard looks great on a resume. Colleges want performance art students and offer special scholarships because Color Guard participants show great dedication, and colleges want students with devotion to better their college’s image.
2. “You don’t win a debate by suppressing discussion; you win it with a better argument” – Frank S.
Forensics is a collective term for both speech and debate. Forensics competitions consist of students from other high schools/communities competing in one debate event and one or two speech events at the same tournament. Speech and debate is an academic activity typically available to middle school, high school, and college students. Like athletic sports, speech and debate activities are challenging and competitive and require regular practice, constructive criticism, dedication, and a solid work ethic. Speech and debate improves one’s collaborative abilities, critical thinking, quickly adapting to new surroundings, and communication skills. The difficulty level of Forensics is a 10 out of 10 because, in Forensics, practice after school is essential to having success in this program. However, the work is all worth it in the end. With a high satisfaction rate of 10, the daily companionship and knowledgeable experiences in Speech Forensics, like working in a team, dressing in formal attire, and traveling for competitions, add to a high fulfillment rate. The remarkable experiences also come with exceptional opportunities like adding speech and debate to your resume, building unique connections with possible allies, countless recommendation letters from experts, and a wider variety of school scholarships. Schools and employers want people with stable and transparent communication skills to make their school or organization look better, and joining James Logan’s Forensics reflects successful communication.
3. “Fake news is cheap to produce. Genuine news is expensive” – Anonymous.
Journalism is up next on Logan’s list of best extracurriculars. Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. Though it may be exciting or entertaining, the maximum value of communication is as a utility to empower the informed. Thus, journalism provides citizens the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, communities, societies, and governments. The skills that Journalism teaches and improves include better written and verbal communication, paying close attention to details, persistence, research skills, literacy, reasoning and logical investigative reporting, and problem-solving skills. Journalism is a non-judgmental and relaxing class, with a difficulty level of 2 out of 10. The difficulty level is two because the environment is not stressful. Class time consists of daily class discussions about recent news, fun quick-writing tasks, lessons on improving writing skills, and writing assignments, but if you do not stay on top of your work, it’s easy for work to build up and become a stressful class. Nevertheless, many enjoy all that journalism offers, with a satisfaction rate of 10 out of 10. Journalism receives a ten in satisfaction rates because, unlike many classes, it is a judgement-free zone that makes students feel comfortable expressing their opinions, and most importantly, the ability to write about topics that interest them. The opportunities of Journalism are that it helps with adding to your resume, great connections, recommendation letters, and a wide variety of school scholarships. Journalism reflects dedication, initiative, and genuine passion for writing and communication, and these skills will illustrate your uniqueness to colleges and scholarship offerers. Consider joining James Logan’s journalism!
4. “Fly like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee, and please vote for me.” – Anonymous.
Student Council is a group of students elected by other students to represent them in school government and help plan student fundraisers and activities. Student Council teaches leadership, communication, persistence, responsibility, time management, and critical thinking skills. Because the student council represents their peers, accountability and maturity are crucial to staying on top of special dates and planning events. The Student Council’s difficulty level is a 7 out of 10 because of the endless responsibility and commitment. Still, even though it can sometimes be challenging, the fun and irreplaceable adventures in James Logan’s Student Council are gratifying, which makes the satisfaction level 10 out of 10!
5. “Show like Wow!” – James Logan 2021-2022 Show choir chant/slogan.
The Show Choir ranked the lowest among the extracurriculars that I would join and recommend. A show choir is a musical ensemble combining choral singing and dance. The members perform together and compete against other choirs at competitions. The skills learned in Show Choir include teamwork, commitment, responsibility, concentration, confidence, discipline, and active listening. The Show Choir has many moving parts, like five-hour practices twice a week and harsh exercises during class to prepare members of the show choir for all the singing and dancing for concerts. It is physically demanding and requires the same amount of activity as most competitive sports, resulting in the difficulty level being a 10 out of 10. Show Choir gets at ten because the time and effort put into Show Choir is beyond demanding, and even when you are tired, you are expected to dance and sing to show the audience that you are not tired. Unlike other sports at Logan, Show Choir participates in 30 minutes of intense workouts and cardio non-stop, and if you stop at any time of the exercises, you will receive a consequence. Because Show Choir is physically and emotionally demanding, it ranked a 5 out of 10 on satisfaction. Show Choir gets a 5 for its toxic environment that is very judgmental and competitive towards one another, rather than motivating each other like other extracurriculars. While I do not recommend joining Show Choir, and most information provided for James Logan’s Show Choir is negative, it still has many benefits. Show Choir offers excellent opportunities like receiving five community service hours each semester, a wider variety of scholarships, more recommendation letters, becoming more appealing to colleges, traveling together, and adding Show Choir to your resume.
