Club Focus

La Jolla High’s Academic Clubs

Kyra Sharma, Managing and Opinions Editor • March 16, 2024

Our academic clubs have been bringing their all this year, with several teams reaching new heights and historic highs. From our Speech and Debate Team–sending the most students to state in the team’s history, to our Mock Trial Team, which, for the 2024 season, is the 3rd highest-ranking Mock Trial Team in San Diego, our school’s academic clubs have shown immense growth since returning to campus after the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPEECH AND DEBATE

Our Speech and Debate Team recently competed at State Qualifiers and, for the first time in the team’s history, received the A Division Sweepstake Award! Sophomore Anabel Weinstein and Juniors Kyra Sharma, Mira and Sarah Lehman, Solaine Bardin, and Elena Grilli will be competing at the state tournament from April 12th to 14th in their respective events.

MEETINGS: Mondays @ Lunch in Room 511

Members of LJHS Speech and Debate Team at State Qualifiers. (left to right) TOP: Inji Hamdoun, Sarah Lehman, Kyra Sharma, Anabel Weinstein, Mira Lehman. BOTTOM: Solaine Bardin, Elena Grilli. Image via @ljhsspeechanddebate on IG.

MATH TEAM

On Saturday, January 27th, Seniors Solo Weinstein and Issac McGreevy, Juniors David and Ana Abell, and Elena Grilli competed at the Caltech Math Meet, placing 10th out of 40 teams! On Thursday, March 14th, the Math Team held their annual Pi Day fundraiser, selling baked goods and holding a Pi Reciting Competition, and teachers, including Ms. Daughters and Mr. Babcock, were pied in the face.

MEETINGS: Wednesdays @ Lunch in Room 904

Math Team members volunteering at Muirlands Middle School. (left to right) TOP: David Abell, Solo Weinstein, Elena Grilli, Ana Abell, Sid Erat, Justin Huh. BOTTOM: Elijah Jones, Kyra Sharma, Anabel Weinstein. Image via @ljhsmathteam on IG.

MOCK TRIAL

This year, the LJHS Mock Trial Team secured 3rd place in San Diego, placing higher than ever before! Mr. Stephens, the club advisor, said, “It’s really good to be involved with an academic club. It looks really good on your resume, and you work as a team.”

ACADEMIC LEAGUE

Our LJHS Academic League is currently leading an undefeated season, and have their final game of the season on March 21st, and if they win, will lead them directly to the semifinals. Last year, the team made it to the Quarterfinals, so securing this next win would be a huge achievement. Junior Zac Schmidt said, “I’m so proud of how we’ve competed so far, and so grateful to be a part of this team.”

MEETINGS: Thursdays @ Lunch in Room 802

Members of LJHS Academic League at a season game. (left to right) TOP: Ms. Lobato, [NAME], Ephi Rosenstock, Carson Lupton, Nakeen Sarraf, Nathan Lam, Justin Huh, Sid Erat, Elijah Jones, Zac Schmidt. BOTTOM: Huxley Smith, Ana Abell, David Abell, Sarah [LAST NAME], Johanna Chen [SP??], Hannah Davidson, Elena Grilli. Image via @ljhs_al on IG.

MODEL UN

LJHS Model United Nations has attended several city-wide conferences this school year, from Triton MUN on the UCSD campus to T&T MUN on LJCD’s campus. Delegates have participated in various committees, from the Trojan War to the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis.

MEETINGS: Thursdays @ Lunch in Room 901

Members of LJHS MUN during a two-day conference at UCSD. (left to right) Kobi Schneider, Andrew Lee, Mr. Babcock, Simon Lewis, Owen Archbold, Selena Chang, and Sophia Bottini. Image via @modelunljhs1 on Instagram.

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

Our School’s Science Olympiad has weekly meetings and is preparing to compete in the San Diego Regional Competition on March 16th. In previous years, our team has done very well, and they plan on doing even better this year.

MEETINGS: Thursday @ Lunch in Room 703

Science Olympiad Team. Image via Alex Park.

ROBOTICS

Vikings Robotics is an FRC Robotics Team at LJHS. Each season, the mechanical, electric, and software teams work together to build a robot to compete at the FIRST robotics competition in March. This year, the competition is from March 21-24, and the Robotics team plans on bringing their all to do better than ever before.

MEETINGS: Every day after school- 6 pm, 9-12 on Saturdays

LJHS Robotics Team. Image via @frc2984 on IG.

About the Contributor

Kyra Sharma, Editor-in-Chief

Kyra Sharma is a senior in her third year of Journalism, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the Hi-Tide as Editor-in-Chief this year. With her background as Staff Writer, Guest Contributor, and Managing/Opinions Editor for the Hi-Tide over the past three years, as well as her heavy commitment to Speech and Debate, Kyra has had several opportunities to voice her opinion on significant issues that are often left in the dark, from menstrual stigmas to faulty forensic science. She looks forward to furthering her journalistic career by encouraging staff writers to provide diverse perspectives on such matters, contributing insightful articles to the paper, and ensuring that the publication remains a platform for impactful discussion. Kyra is beyond excited to work with her fellow staff for a fantastic final year!