These are the Club requirements and application forms. Please see Mr. Sicko for a hard copy.
Starting a DeMatha Club
Student Life/Activities Office Guidelines
Background
Clubs and Student Organizations are an integral part of the educational process. It is an opportunity for students to explore interests or socialize with friends in supervised activities.
Clubs
A club is a meeting of a group of individuals for a specialized purpose. All clubs must have a DeMatha Faculty or Staff moderator responsible for their supervision. Every club must have gone through the DeMatha approval process and is subject to DeMatha regulations regarding all affairs. Not all activities will need to go through the club application process. There can certainly be school initiatives outside the club arena.
Creating a New Club
1. Check with the Director of Student Life to determine if the requested club already exists.
Ø If yes, stop here. All is well!
Ø If no, follow the application process.
Activities officer personnel should discuss with the group their plans to ensure DeMatha policies and regulations are followed. By regulation, all clubs must be student-initiated and student-run (under the supervision of the moderator).
2. A current DeMatha employee must be the sponsor. It is necessary that a staff member sponsors each activity and be present at each club meeting/activity.
3. The application packet is comprised of the cover sheet, application, constitution/mission statement, and a student interest form.
4. The forms are to be reviewed and approved by the Director of Student Life.
5. Application packets will be returned to the Director of Student Life.
All forms must be typed or computer-generated, except for the student interest form
Make sure the application is complete and includes the typed name of the sponsor. The signature of the DSL are required on the application.
Fundraising or financial donation is allowed in the application or in the constitution. There must also be a statement to the effect that all fundraising activities are subject to DeMatha administration approval.
It is not necessary to list specific fund-raising activities, field trips, performances, etc. on the application or in the constitution; it is best to be generic. If you choose to be specific, indicate on the application/constitution that any/all activities will comply with DeMatha regulations, polices, and approval processes
There must be a constitution; it should include elements such as how students become members of the club, how officers are chosen, how officers can be removed from office, what the responsibilities of the officers are. For most clubs, there can be no restriction on which students may initially enter into membership (other than a student being in good standing). Once students are involved, then clubs may include requirements to maintain membership. These operating procedures do not need to be included in the basic constitution.
A club may NOT be the extension of an outside organization and no outside organization may have any authority or decision-making power over a DeMatha club or students. Once a club has met the requirements and has been approved centrally, working with an outside agency is possible under the approval/supervision of the school administration.
The student interest form must have a list of current students (and their DM email addresses) interested in participating in the club; the minimum number of interested students necessary to start a club is be determined by Director of Student Life.
Starting a DeMatha Club Cover Sheet/Checklist
(Print or Type Information)
School Year:____________________
Club Name:_____________________________________
A new club application packet must include the first 4 items listed below and this cover sheet (completed).
1. [REQUIRED] Cover Sheet
2. [REQUIRED] Application (typed) Sponsor named typed on application, Director of Student Life signature.
3. [REQUIRED] Constitution/Mission Statement (typed)
4. [REQUIRED] Student Interest List, include DM email address of each student on the list
5. Important Notes
· All DM student organizations/clubs must have at least 2 officer positions: President and Secretary.
o The President will be the point of contact between the moderator, the Director of Student Life, and the School Administration.
o The Secretary will be REQUIRED to take attendance at every meeting.
· All DM student interest clubs must have open membership opportunities for every student who is in good standing.
· Ensure that clubs operate according to their constitution/by-laws.
· Fundraising or financial donation is allowed in the application or in the constitution. There must also be a statement to the effect that all fundraising activities are subject to school administration approval. It is not necessary to list specific fund-raising activities, field trips, performances, etc. on the application or in the constitution; it is best to be generic. If you choose to be specific, you must indicate on the application/constitution that any/all activities will comply with DeMatha regulations, policies, and approval processes.
· A club may NOT be the direct extension of an outside organization and no outside organization may have any authority over a DeMatha club or students. Once a club has met the requirements and has been approved centrally, working with an outside agency is possible under the approval/supervision of the Director of Student Activities and any necessary DM offices.
DeMatha Club Proposal
Please Type or Print
Date of Application:________________________________
Name of Club: _____________________________________
Brief Description of Club: :
Purpose of Club:
TYPE OF CLUB (circle one): Curricular Community Service Special Interest
Student Organizer:
Club Moderator:
Director of Student Life/Activities Signature:_________________________________
Type your club’s Constitution/Mission Statement and attach it to this page.
See Sample Constitution/Mission Statement
Student Interest Form
Student school email address is required.
(Please Print Names and Emails)
The following students are interested in participating in ______________________________________
(First and Last Name) (Email)
1. __________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________________
8. __________________________________________________________
9. __________________________________________________________
10 __________________________________________________________
11. _________________________________________________________
12. _________________________________________________________
13. _________________________________________________________
14. _________________________________________________________
15. _________________________________________________________
16. _________________________________________________________
17. _________________________________________________________
18. _________________________________________________________
19. _________________________________________________________
20. _________________________________________________________
SAMPLE CONSTITUTION/MISSION STATEMENT
DO NOT JUST FILL IN THE BLANKS….USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A POINT OF REFERENCE WHEN YOU ARE WRITING YOUR CONSTITUTION
This is a sample constitution only. Clubs/organizations will need to design a constitution to meet their specific needs and can likely delete a lot of this.
ARTICLE I – Name
Section 1 – The name of this club or organization shall be ______________________________________________ of ______________________________High School.
ARTICLE II – Objectives and Activities
Section 1 – General objectives of this club shall be:
a.
b.
c.
Section 2 – The activities of the club shall be in accord with its objectives. General activities shall include the following:
a.
b.
ARTICLE III – Officers
Section 1 – Officers shall be _______________________________________________________________________
Section 2 - The duties of the officers are as follows: ____________________________________________________
1.
2.
Section 3 – Each officer shall serve for one year and may be re-elected.
ARTICLE IV – Elections
Section 1 – Officers shall be elected each spring at a regular meeting with due announcement of ________ days given.
ARTICLE V – Meetings
Section 1 – The club shall hold _________ meetings a month at such time and place as shall be determined by the club officers and sponsor.
Section 2 - Meetings shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rule of Order.
ARTICLE VI – Ratification and Amendments
Section 1 – This constitution must be ratified by 2/3 or the club membership present at a duly announced meeting.
Section 2 – Amendments may be made to this constitution with a 2/3 vote of the club membership present at a duly announced meeting.
ARTICLE VII – Membership
Section 1 - _______________________________________________________________________________________