On a cloudy Thursday afternoon, Arcadia High School (AHS) hosted its 2023 annual Spring Preview with AHS students and staff planning a campus tour on Mar. 30 to introduce parents and future students to high school life. The AHS athletic and performing arts organizations set up booths to attract new members, and food and performances were provided for the attendees as well.

The booths that attracted the most attention were definitely those of the AHS clubs, where club officers provided snacks and fun activities to help attendees explore the respective clubs that suit their interests. 

President of the AHS French Club, junior Nikini Wathithantrige hopes to immerse high school students in French language and culture. The club hosts occasional events to help members learn about French holidays and cuisine. It is also associated with the French language program, which helps host opportunities for French students to visit Los Angeles, and AHS students taking French class to visit France.

“I’ve been taking [French Club] for the past three years. I’m a junior now and I think people should take it since it’s pretty fun, ” said Wathithantrige. “You’re also more likely to meet your friends in French class since we have less periods of classes compared to other courses.”

The AHS Interact Club is also a popular one among students. This club is associated with the Rotary International organization, which helps students strengthen their leadership skills and give out scholarship opportunities. 

“We’re a voluntary club that mostly does charity work around the community, such as in elementary schools, and we host other events around Arcadia,” said Interact Club Community Service Director senior Katrina Chu.

“I’ve been in Interact all four years of high school, and it’s really fun because not only are you spending time volunteering and helping other people, you also get to meet a lot of new people and make new friends,” said Interact Club Vice President senior Joyce Ng. “For example, I became friends with Katrina through the club, and we go to fun events together.”

The AHS American Sign Language Club is a club dedicated to teaching American sign language to students so that they can excel at this communication skill by the end of the year. The club also teaches deaf culture and deaf interaction to those interested. 

“It’s a language class, so you do gain a small amount of language proficiency,” said American Sign Language Club President senior Annika Bullock. “But it’s also kind of a culture club so people can gain more knowledge in this regard and get in contact with a larger community that’s also interested in learning sign language.”

After visiting the variety of booths, students could get some snacks from the food trucks and enjoy the performances brought by the AHS Performing Arts groups. 

First up, Orchesis did an intriguing preview of their upcoming performance “The Muses’ Canvas,” coming up on April 27 to 29. Then came Pep Cheer and Pep Song, demonstrating their acrobatic skills and dance moves. Finally, Pep Band performed, determined to bring the audience their best performance despite playing their instruments in the heavy rain. 

In the end, Spring Preview ended in success and managed to infuse many visitors with school spirit.