Clubs/Activities
Sweetwater Branch Academy After School Clubs start at 3:30 pm and end at 4:15 pm. SWBA also provides weekend and morning studies.
- All clubs, academic teams, and tutoring sessions are sponsored by our own teachers and are free for our students
- College Mentorship Program (CMP) – SAT preps, leadership and extracurricular activities, college guidance – also offered free for our middle and high school students
- We will open two new clubs in the second semester: Music Club and Perfect Your FCAT Score Club
- Please contact the front desk for each teacher’s weekly tutoring schedule
SWBA 2012-2013 Weekly Club & Academic Team Schedule
Please click here for Club Change Request Form
Middle School Clubs and Academic Teams
Student Council
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Scherff Room 104 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 20 students
This is the club for students who are interested in the politics of the school. Students who want to make a change in the way things go at the school should be in this club. Students who want to help plan parties and events for the school should apply. The members of this club will also be responsible for reporting the changes to their homeroom classmates. Student government is a club geared towards civic minded students who want to play an important role in their school and community. Members must run campaigns and be elected by their peers. As members of Student Government, students will work to improve both the school and the surrounding Gainesville community. We will meet once a week and projects are TBA.
Music Club
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Scherff Room 104 Thursday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 15 students
Have you always wanted to know how to read music? Or maybe you already can read music? Do enjoy singing and having a great time? Then Music Club is the place for you. We will work on learning how to read music, and how to sing together. We will also learn the names of the many different instruments out there, and how to recognize them when they are played! If you already play an instrument, bring it with you! We will be performing as a group and feature a few soloists at the Annual SWBA Talent Show. If this sounds like something you might like, Ms. Scherff would love to have you join in the fun!
Cooking Club
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Robinson Room 104 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 15 students
Cooking club invites students who have a passion for learning new cultures and expressing themselves through food. We will be meeting once a week on Mondays and using this unique opportunity to get math/measurement practice as well as learning different techniques associated with the culinary arts. This will be an excellent opportunity for students to nourish their minds and their bodies.
Math Academic Team
Coach: Mr. Uncu Room 103 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 15 students
Math team welcomes all students who enjoy math. We will usually meet once a week. We will be solving problems, learning new strategies, and preparing for the competitions at the same time. This is not a tutoring session. See Mr. Uncu for tutoring hours.
SECME Academic Team
Coach: Mrs. Robinson Room 107 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 15 students
SECME - began as a collaborative effort of school districts, engineering universities, business and industry, and government. SECME's goal is to increase the pool of historically under-represented, geographically under-served, and differently abled students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce. (www.secme.org). The club will foster a love for engineering through hands-on projects. Several schools in Alachua school district are already members of the consortium and they participate in the competitions (similar to Olympiad). The resources needed to start the club are relatively small and we can get guidance from other schools.
Turkish Olympiad Team Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Gokkurt Room 105 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM
The purpose of this club is to get students ready for the 2013 Turkish Olympiad. Students will be competing in some categories by using Turkish language. Some of the categories included are signing, poetry reading, short movie, skit and conversation. This club is open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders currently taking Turkish as their Foreign Language.
Model United Nations (MUN) Academic Team Limit: 25 students
Coach: Dr. Baslanti Room 102 Tuesday 3:30-4:15 PM
In Model United Nations, students of almost all academic levels step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states. They debate current issues on the organization's agenda, make speeches, prepare draft resolutions, negotiate with allies and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the conference rules of procedure. This becomes all in the interest of mobilizing "international cooperation" to resolve problems that affect countries all over the world.
Math Games Club Limit: 12 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Kuyucu Room 103 Tuesday 3:30-4:15 PM
Do you want to improve your math skills a fun way? Then come and join us for Math GAMES Club. We will expand our math skills through games. All students in grades six through eight are welcome to join in playing some awesome math games.
Boys’ Basketball Team Limit: 15 students
Coach: Mr. Cevik Room 109 Tuesday & Friday 3:30-4:15 PM
Students will practice basketball and compete with other schools in friendly tournaments.
Soccer Team Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mr. Cevik Room 109 Wednesday 3:30-4:15 PM
Students will practice soccer and compete with other schools in friendly tournaments.
National Junior Honor Society Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Scherff Room 104 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM
The purpose of this organization is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character, and to encourage citizenship.
Science Olympiad Academic Team Limit: 18 students
Coach: Mr. Altintas Room 107 Thursday 3:30-4:15 PM
Science Olympiad is an academic competition designed especially for those students who enjoy science and want some extra challenge. It has 23 pre-defined events that cover the entire spectrum of middle school science curriculum. It addresses different branches of science like life science, physical science, earth science, chemistry and astronomy, robotics, and criminology; as well as different abilities like laboratory activities, building events, presentations, and problem solving. The competition is conducted in local, state and national levels.
Drumming Club: 20 students
Parent Sponsor: Mr. Wagstaff Room TBA Wednesday 3:30-4:15 PM
Mr. Wagstaff, a parent and a musician, will be forming a school drumming group to learn, practice, and perform. A minimal fee will apply. A separate pamphlet will be handed out during Orientation Day and the first week of school.
Yearbook Club Limit: 15 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Evans Room 110 Friday 3:30-4:15 PM
This is the club for those people that would rather be behind a camera than in front of it. We will take the pictures for the yearbook except for the individual student professional photos. We will also work on the layout and design of the yearbook. It should be an exciting year where we will have a final product to sell at the end of the year. This club will be school -wide and the layouts, editing, formatting, and captions, artworks, etc. may be submitted for consideration throughout the year. All students who love working with films, photography, graphic artist, journalism, creative arts, and scrapbooking will be ideal for this club. We encourage all faculty and family/guardians or other community members to volunteer in our first annual tradition of the Sweetwater Branch Academy Yearbook!
Turkish Folk Dance Club Limit: 12 students
Coach: Mrs. Gokkurt Room 105 Friday 3:30-4:15 PM
We are pleased to announce the Turkish Folk Dance Club. In this club, students will learn basic figures, stage choreography, and contest rules. After practicing dances, students will attend the Turkish Folk Dance Olympiad in the second semester, which awards prizes to winners. Open to students of all middle school grades and skill levels.
Lego League Academic Team Limit: 12 students
Room 110 Thursday 3:30-4:15 PM
First Lego League is a program that combines hands-on, interactive robotics programming along with a research presentation. We will focus on such things as team building, problem solving, creativity, and analytical thinking.
Latin Culture Club
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Evans Room 105 Monday 3:30-4:15 PM Limit: 20 students
The Latin Culture Club is an exploratory venture. This club will be a supplement to the Spanish classes. The study of the Spanish language and its many diverse cultures is so broad that it is impossible to cover all of its aspects in one year. The students will be exposed to various aspects of the Latin culture. The focus will be on a different theme every nine weeks, in which the students will engage in activities and projects. Those themes will consist of food/social norms, dance/music, history, real-world language/pop culture.
Future City Design Academic Team Limit: 20 students
Room 110 Thursday 3:30-4:15 PM
The mission of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition is to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students that combine a stimulating engineering challenge with a "hands-on" application to present their vision of a city of the future.
Turkish Olympiad Team Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Gokkurt Room 105 Tuesday 3:30-4:15 PM
The purpose of this club is to get students ready for the 2013 Turkish Olympiad. Students will be competing in some categories by using Turkish language. Some of the categories included are signing, poetry reading, short movie, skit and conversation. This club is open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders currently taking Turkish as their Foreign Language.
Math Games Club Limit: 12 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Kuyucu Room 103 Tuesday 3:30-4:15 PM
Do you want to improve your math skills a fun way? Then come and join us for Math GAMES Club. We will expand our math skills through games. All students in grades six through eight are welcome to join in playing some awesome math games.
Journalism / Library Club Limit: 10 students
Room TBA Thursday 3:30-4:15 PM
The journalism club is open to any and all students who are interested in writing and research. Those who are in this club will write and publish the Jaguar Digest, which is a SWBA publication. Students will participate by writing articles; developing ideas for articles and design; interview students, staff, parents and/or members of the community; and many other exciting journalese tasks. Come join the Jaguar journalist team and help keep our students informed and entertained. Students will also help organizing the library.
Turkish Folk Dance Club Limit: 12 students
Coach: Mrs. Gokkurt Room 105 Friday 3:30-4:15 PM
We are pleased to announce the Turkish Folk Dance Club. In this club, students will learn basic figures, stage choreography, and contest rules. After practicing dances, students will attend the Turkish Folk Dance Olympiad in the second semester, which awards prizes to winners. Open to students of all middle school grades and skill levels.
Spelling Bee Academic Team Limit: 20 students
Room 102 Friday 3:30-4:15 PM
Any student who wishes to compete in the Alachua County spelling bee may participate in this club. This club will focus on preparation for the spelling bee by learning etymology, researching and learning vocabulary, and participating in practice bees. Participation is by teacher invitation only for students who win the school level competition at the beginning of the year.
Elementary School Clubs and Academic Teams
Story Book Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Clark Room 202 Monday 1:55-2:35 PM
In this club I will be reading a variety of genres in literature, from Folk Tales & Fairytales to Fables & Modern Fantasy. Some examples of the books I would love to include this year are: Paul Bunyan, Tales from the Odyssey, Cinderella, Ella Enchanted, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz. At the end of each story we will watch a movie of the same story and discuss how closely it relates to the actual book.
Organized Games Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick A, Room 201 Monday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will play organized games including circle games such as Indian Chief, Duck Duck Goose, Cut the Cake, Guard the President, Silent Speed Ball, and several others. We will play a variety of games each time we meet.
Outdoor Games Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, A. Room 204 Monday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club will be all about having fun! Running, jumping, climbing, building sandcastles and exploring nature! Every child needs time to use their imagination and just play.
Movie Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. McFarland Room 206 Monday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club is for all the movie enthusiasts! We will be watching a movie every week, and have discussions about the characters, plot, and ending. All movies will be “G” rated.
Craft Club (3-5) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Hutchinson Room 108 Monday 1:55-2:35 PM
For craft club, we will be creating more advanced art projects, such as drawing, oil painting, water colors, and mixed media. Throughout the year, their art will be placed in the classroom along with around the 4th/5th grade areas. A $25 donation is requested to cover the expenses of this club.
Outdoor Games Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Clark Room 202 Tuesday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club will be all about having fun! Running, jumping, climbing, building sandcastles and exploring nature! Every child needs time to use their imagination and just play.
Build It Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, A. Room 204 Tuesday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will discover why bridges stand and pyramids don’t fall. Some of the world’s greatest inventions are buildings we live in or see every day. Students will learn the basics for creating strong structures and design your own.
Our Changing Planet Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, J. Room 205 Tuesday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will journey to the center of the Earth and examine our planet’s core. Students will investigate plate tectonics and volcanoes to learn how the earth is shaped and changed by inner forces through experiments and projects.
Math Games Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bryant Room 207 Tuesday 1:55-2:35 PM
Do you want to improve your math skills a fun way? Then come and join us for Math GAMES Club. We will expand our math skills through games. All students in grades three through eight are welcome to join in playing some awesome math games.
Book Club (3-5) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Hutchinson Room 108 Tuesday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will form groups of 3-4 based on reading interests, where they will read a different book every month. There will be a group leader in each group that will alternate. The leader will be in charge of coming up with appropriate questions relating to the book to discuss with group members (a sample question list will be provided which students can choose to use). Each month, the groups will present a summary of their book, and whether or not they would recommend others to read it.
Classic Movie Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. Clark Room 202 Wednesday 1:55-2:35 PM
In this club I would like to show the students classic films that they may not have ever seen before. I would like to include such classic films as The Swiss Family Robinson, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The original Doctor Doolittle, staring Rex Harrison, the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, staring Gene Wilder as well as the Shirley Temple series of films and the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series.
Outdoor Game Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, J. Room 205 Wednesday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club will be all about having fun! Running, jumping, climbing, building sandcastles and exploring nature! Every child needs time to use their imagination and just play.
Journalism Club (3-5) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bryant Room 207 Wednesday 1:55-2:35 PM
The journalism club is open to any and all students who are interested in writing and research. Those who are in this club will write and publish the Jaguar Digest, which is a SWBA publication. Students will participate by writing articles; developing ideas for articles and design; interview students, staff, parents and/or members of the community; and many other exciting journalese tasks. Come join the Jaguar journalist team and help keep our students informed and entertained. Students will also help organizing the library.
Drumming Club (3-5) Limit: 20 students
Parent Sponsor: Mr. Bryant Room TBA Wednesday 1:55-2:35 PM
Mr. Wagstaff, a parent and a musician, will be forming a school drumming group to learn, practive, and perform. A minimal fee will apply. A separate pamphlet will be handed out during Orientation Day and the first week of school.
Movie Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, A. Room 204 Thursday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club is for all the movie enthusiasts! We will be watching a movie every week, and have discussions about the characters, plot, and ending. All movies will be “G” rated.
Art Club (3-5) Limit: 10 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. McFarland Room 206 Thursday 1:55-2:35 PM
This art club is for older elementary children who are interested in more complex and intricate art projects, such as crayon resist, oil pastels, collage, and paper crafting. Limited to 10 students. A $25 donation is requested to cover the expenses of this club.
Possible art projects:
- Oil pastel (Pointillism)
- Rouault clown painting (water color and crayons)
- Quilling (thin strips of paper curled and glued to background paper)
- Mechanimals Collage (cut and paste from magazines)
- Paper collage (cut and paste construction paper)
- Building Collage (cut and paste construction paper into building shapes)
- Yarn pictures (glue strips of yarn to make a picture)
- Stained Glass (using tissue paper, glue, and black paper)
- Pinwheels (construction paper, brass paper fasteners, straws)
- Creative Lettering (markers, crayons, paper)
- Fish collage (construction paper, glue, glitter)
- Origami (paper)
- Grid Portraits (pencil, paper)
- Butterfly painting (paint, scissors)
- Word Kaleidoscope (markers, paper) http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/elem22.html
- Silhouettes (black paper, scissors, white paper)
- Finger paint landscape (paper, paint, water)
- Tissue paper collage (tissue paper, glue, white paper)
- 3D snowflakes (toilet/paper towel rolls, glue, glitter, scissors)
Drama Club (3-5) Limit: 10 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bryant Room 208 Thursday 1:55-2:35 PM
This club will be designed to teach students the basics of acting, stage movement, and how a play is written. Students will study plays & monologues, write their own, and star in one production at the end of the year presented to students and parents.
Safety Patrol (5th grade only) Limit: TBD
Teacher Sponsor: Ms.Deck Room 111 Thursday 1:55-2:35 PM
5th grade is the year for safety patrol. Students must exhibit excellent behavior, grades and overall citizenship skills to stay in the safety patrol club. The patrol’s job is to remind students of safety rules learned in the classroom and to guide them in safe after school pick up procedures. Patrols receive instructions on guidelines and procedures during their training and regular patrol meetings. Duties will be explained to patrols upon their acceptance. Teachers and faculty will help determine if a student is eligible for safety patrol, or if their membership should be revoked.
Movie Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Mrs. MacFarland Room 201 Friday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will watch classic and more recent Disney movies that they are interested in. We may do a craft or activity that goes along with the movie, depending on the movie and time constraints. We will discuss the story elements of each movie as well, including setting, characters, plot, etc.
Book Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick, J. Room 205 Friday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will form groups of 3-4 based on reading interests, where they will read a different book every month. There will be a group leader in each group that will alternate. The leader will be in charge of coming up with appropriate questions relating to the book to discuss with group members (a sample question list will be provided which students can choose to use). Each month, the groups will present a summary of their book, and whether or not they would recommend others to read it.
Reader’s Theatre Club (K-2) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bartnick A, Room 205 Friday 1:55-2:35 PM
See teacher for details
Pen Pal Club (3-5) Limit: 20 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Bryant Room 207 Friday 1:55-2:35 PM
Students will develop a relationship with a person in the military by letter. The students will have the opportunity to write letters to their pen pal meeting a new person and learning a different perspective of the world. Students will also have the opportunity to improve their writing skills and develop relationships with people that they may never meet.
Yearbook Club (3-5) Limit: 15 students
Teacher Sponsor: Ms. Hutchinson Room 108 Friday 1:55-2:35 PM
We will create and edit the Elementary Yearbook with the students’ assistance. Students will develop computer and photography skills.
