Clubs and Activities
Become an active member in the Darnell-Cookman community and join a club or participate in an activity! Through extra-curricular activities students can make new friends, learn new skills, or practice a hidden skill or passion.
Darnell-Cookman Students Sweep the Envirothon Competition
Three teams of high school students from Darnell-Cookman competed in the Envirothon this week. The Envirothon is a hands-on environmental problem-solving competition for high school-aged students in the United States and Canada. Participating teams complete training and testing in five natural resource categories: soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and current environmental issues.
Students from the following Northeast Florida counties are invited to compete: Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns. The winner of the regional Envirothon goes on to represent their district at the state level at the Florida Envirothon and possibly the national level competition. Out of all the teams competing, Darnell-Cookman students took first place, second place and 3rd place in the competition. The students on the team that took first place will be moving on to represent Duval County at the state-level competition in April.
During the competition, students were asked to answer written questions and perform hands-on tasks that focused on Aquatic Ecology, Wildlife, Forestry, Soil / Land Use. Next, they had to give a two-minute speech, addressing a question based on this year's Current Issue topic - Adapting to a Changing Climate. Finally, students were given a written test covering information about the Current Issue. We are so proud of the 15 students that represented Darnell-Cookman and are excited to see what the members of the winning team will do at the State Envirothon competition next month.
Every month Great Decisions travels to UNF to meet with other high schools and four colleges- UNF, Flager, JU, and FSCJ. The program provides background information and policy options for the eight most critical issues facing America each year.
Most recently, students had the opportunity to interact with former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
Club | Sponsor and contact information | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
Quiz Bowl | Mr. Casner | Teams compete head-to-head to answer questions from all areas of knowledge, including history, literature, science, fine arts, current events, popular culture, sports, and more. |
Beta Club
| Dr. Davis | The idea of this club is to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among high school students. |
Viking Bowling Club | Mr. Combs Mr. Percy | For High Schoolers - once a month from 3:30 - 5:00 |
Great Decisions
| Ms. Bottini | National, grassroots foreign policy discussion group that brings global affairs to teachers and the classroom. |
Multicultural | Ms. Gonzalez Mr. Casner | All students are welcome to join and show off their culture or learn about new ones. |
Chess Club
| Mr. Casner | Promotes playing the board game of chess |
Performing Arts Club | Mrs. Fagundes | Students will learn proper breathing and singing techniques, appropriate performance etiquette, theatrical directions and staging, character-building techniques, blocking, and choreography. |
National Honor Society |
| Membership in the National Honor Society is one of the highest honors that can be awarded to a high school student. Students are invited to become members. |
National Junior Honor Society
|
| Students are invited to join based on G.P.A. and will serve to elevate their commitment to the values of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. |
Science Club (Middle School) | Ms. Nanney | Students explore science concepts in more depth |
GSA | Ms. Bottini | Student-run organizations that unite LGBTQ+ and allied youth to build communities and organize around issues impacting them in their schools and communities. |
Cheerleading |
| Selected participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. |
Green Thumbs Club | Mr. Percy | Students will explore organic, local and sustainable agriculture. |
5000 Role Models | Ms. Peeples | The club is for males, grades 6-12, looking to develop leadership skills and connect with other positive students in the school and community. |
Model UN | Ms. Bottini | Model U.N. is a club that helps educate students in the world of diplomacy, politics, and international cooperation. To this aim it will host practices in the etiquette used in international forums and bring students to attend conferences that measure a delegates success in various diplomatic situations |