By Cassidy Johnson
Friday and Saturday, January 12-13th, Apopka High’s chapter of the National Beta Club went to the annual Florida State Convention held in Orlando, Fl. Sponsors Mrs. Hough and Mrs. Conyers took almost 90 students to compete in a plethora of categories and activities against other Florida high school Beta Club chapters. There were familiar schools in attendance such as Oviedo and Windermere High, as well as schools who traveled much farther like Immokalee high school and Holmes County High. Leaving in the middle of the school day on Friday, and returning Sunday morning at midnight, this was the most memorable year for Apopka’s Beta Club at the convention to date.
The National Beta Club is an educational youth organization, the largest non-profit one in the country. Its mission statement reads: “To promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service, and leadership among elementary and secondary school students.” The National Beta Club promotes and fosters those four pillars in students annually with its state and national convention and throughout the rest of the year by focusing its efforts on community service.
Competitions primarily range from academics to arts. Students can take tests in subjects matter from Social Studies to Spanish to Science. Members can display their proficiency in technology or woodworking if they choose. Available art categories include Sculpture, Mixed Media, and Acrylic among many others. There are also the Special Talent and Group Talent competitions which predominantly feature singers and dancers. Any appropriate competition you can think of, Beta Convention has it. Quiz Bowl, Show Choir, Living Literature, etc.
One purpose of the State Beta Conventions is to serve as qualifiers for those who wish to compete at the National Beta Convention in June. The other purpose is to elect the new state officers. Every year a new State President, Vice President, and Secretary are chosen. They will serve until the next convention and are eligible to run for the national offices at the national convention. These officers are responsible for working with state and national sponsors, coordinating efforts across different Beta Clubs, and leading the state student Beta population.
Apopka made out pretty well this year. The following is a list of all Apopka Beta members who placed at the convention over the weekend:
Show Choir – 1st place – Taylor Emery, Jeffery Laux, Angel Fernando, Julianna Domenech, Robert Sumpter, Elizabeth Spurlock, Kevin Osano, Dazhir Walker, Brittany Beckwith, Bianca Beckwith, Charity Graham, Ashton Merbach and Abby Bankson.
Sculpture – 3rd place – Alex Nguyen
Recycled Art – 2nd place – Emma Treadwell, Melanie Halem, Cassidy Proctor, and Kaitlyn Usher
Math test – 3rd place – Jenelle Fernando
Science test – 1st place – Kendall Lindsey
Agriculture test – 1st place – Gabi Cohen
Social Studies test – 2nd place – Emma Treadwell
Spanish test – 2nd place – Jesus Gonzalez
Math test – 2nd place – Katarina Blumenstein
Beta Build – 1st place – Kyle Lee, Ariana Jimenez, Taylor Bornstein, and Ryan Kempsey
Fresh Look at Beta – 1st place – Isabella Urena, Jenny Lin, and Michelle Ramirez
The 2nd Place Recycled Art Winner called “Spamupo” or “Spammy”
Although the club did not place in a favorite competition, Living Literature, Beta students are proud of their efforts. The purpose of Living Literature is to recreate a scene from a piece of literature.
This year the school chose A Series of Unfortunate Events. The catch is that participants in the scene must remain absolutely still for 5-minute intervals. All must be as still as if the image were a picture.
All in all, this was Apopka High School’s best performance at Beta Convention. With pride and high expectations, Apopka High’s Beta Club chapter is looking forward to next year.
From left to right: Jesus Gonzalez, Jenelle Fernando, Kendall Lindsey, Katarina Blumenstein, and Gabi Cohen.