Interact is known for its events during Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. From events around the school to some in the community, Interact is quite busy during these holiday seasons. The entire club works together to pull off a variety of themed volunteer events to benefit the community and school.

During the Halloween season, Interact runs the Halloween Bake Sale, Fall Festival, and Boo Grams. The Fall Festival is a community event hosted at the school that houses a myriad of fall-themed activities and is a great way for families in the community and students alike to enjoy the season. Boo Grams are a staple of the Halloween season for Interact. These consist of a bag of candy and a note sold for $2 that gets delivered to the recipient’s mentoring on Halloween. Interact also decorated the school pink during October for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

For Thanksgiving, Interact ran a school-wide event called Gratitude Grams. This is when each student and staff member sent 4 notes to other members of the MIA community. Interact sorted these into mentorings and wrote extras to make sure every person got at least two. Interact also ran Unzip the Joy, where members from Interact chose a staff member and filled backpacks with some of the staff’s favorite things.

For Santa’s Arrival, the entirety of Interact decorated and set up stations flooding down the hallway for children to participate in on their way to sit on Santa’s lap. The Santa Fun Run was a 5k hosted at Mackle Park for the community to run in and the Pet Parade is an event where pet owners from all over the island get the chance to dress up their pets. Interact helped with the setup and organization of this. The Christmas Parade and the Toy Drive are when Interact collaborates with Thespians and Student Government Association to decorate and march with the school’s float for the island’s Christmas parade. This year, the theme was Seussical. Interact also collected toys to donate to children in need that get delivered during the parade.

Interact is a busy club with a lot of activities and events to better both the community and school. The high involvement of members elevates the holiday spirit and overall excitement during the festive seasons. Bringing joy to everyone involved is at the heart of Interact. After all, “Service Before Self” is the motto. 

Key Club is an international, student-led organization that allows its members to provide services, build character, and develop leadership skills. We have our very own segment of the club, here at MIA. The club’s sponsor is Mrs. Galiana. Mrs. G brought the club to the school 7 years ago and it is the most popular club at MIA. They have many members and are at most events on the island. 

Throughout our fall semester, the club has volunteered at important events throughout our community. Some events include: the Jimmy Buffet Tribute Concert, Trunk or Treat, Meals of Hope, the Columbus Car Show, and competed in the annual Chili Cookoff. The students in the club are very motivated to help keep our MIA community together, which is what makes the club so special!

MIA Key Club has been nominated for numerous awards and has received high ranks from the state at our yearly competitions. To stay involved, you must complete at least 10 hours of service a semester. This is very attainable because the club gives you numerous attempts to stay involved. Meetings are held during A and B lunch every Thursday. If you want to get hours or become a leader, join Key Club. Talk to Mrs. Galiana or email her at, [email protected] for details!

At Marco Island Academy, the Student Government Association (SGA) has an important role in deciding the games, themes, and other fun activities that the whole school can participate in. An example of the planning SGA does is that it decides the themes behind each day for Spirit Week when students are encouraged to wear certain attire depending on the theme of the day. SGA helped create a theme for Marco Island Academy’s homecoming in 2023, which featured a Greek theme. The club meets weekly on Tuesday before school at 7:45 in room 137.

The president of SGA here at Marco Island Academy is Kacie Swanson and the Vice President of SGA is Collete Combs. Kacie Swanson, president of SGA, can be reached at her email which is  [email protected]. Participating in the club, or even better reaching leadership roles in the club can heavily boost your college resume. If you consider yourself creative or passionate about school activities and events you should consider joining or participating in the Student Government Association.

The Science National Honors Society is an organization that recognizes students who excel in the field of science. The club is led by seniors Dan Heekin, Emily Reisinger, Celine Schauer and advised by Mr. Swope. The Science National Honor Society partners with Audubon of the Western Everglades in order to coordinate monthly trips for student members. During these trips, students can connect with conservationists and scientists in order to learn more about their local environment.

So far this year, the Science National Honors Society has gone kayaking at Paddle Marco and visited Tigertail Beach, The Bird Garden of Naples, and the Naples Zoo.  At each one of these trips, students get to explore the scientific world as well as the local environment. These trips also give students the chance to experience many activities that are often overlooked by residents. 

At Paddle Marco, students kayaked through Rookery Bay, observing Florida’s habitat within the estuaries, and learning a lot about marine life and the importance of mangroves. At Tigertail Beach, students discovered more about Florida’s ocean life, catching and observing various species and utilizing magnification tools to view seabirds up close. At the Bird Garden of Naples, students were able to interact with and feed exotic bird species, learning about their unique behaviors. At the Naples Zoo, students learned about zoology and the importance of zoos in species conservation. Overall, these trips are very fun and provide dedicated students a chance to explore the environment while having fun with friends and staff. Meetings are held in Mr. Swope’s room every other Tuesday. 

For more information contact [email protected].

Students who have passed the higher levels of Spanish class should look into our Spanish National Honors Society. This club focuses on Spanish heritage and embracing it throughout the school and community, speaking on the importance of the culture and helping those better understand the culture itself. Meetings happen every Monday after school for members of the group. Most in the group said it provides a space to represent the Hispanic culture embracing the Hispanics and introducing the culture to non-hispanics within the club.  

Activities that the club takes place in food sales during lunch (mostly of the Hispanic culture), and hosting the festival of nations, which takes place the day before Thanksgiving break when most people bring in things from their different cultures for people to try. Along with taking place in the Pulsera project, which helps give back to countries who are in need of having all the processes go back to the original countries the bracelets were made in, and with the new winter season, they are adding a hot chocolate sail along with future plans for the mantras cup which will be a big soccer game which however wants to going.

If interested President Joshua Dominguez, Vice Iran Zarate-Centeno. Advisors Señor Higuera and Mrs. Walther are available to contact for further entry into the club.  

Contact the emails [email protected] and [email protected] if interested in joining. 

The Quill & Scroll is an international honorary society formed to acknowledge the exceptional work of high school journalists. Founded nearly a century ago, the organization has continued to execute its sole purpose of identifying and encouraging both individuals and groups of students who have gone above and beyond in journalism.

The society encourages members to lead, show integrity, work as a team, and take initiative through its eight guiding principles: Truth, Learning, Leadership, Loyalty, Initiative, Integrity, Judgment, and Friendship. Members are tasked with formulating specific journalistic content, participating in community service, and fundraising. As we enter the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year, Quill & Scroll is moving forward with multiple volunteer and fundraising efforts, including a blood drive. More updates for these events will be available to students once everything has been finalized. 

For more information about the Quill and Scroll, contact its advisor, Keith Scalia [email protected], or club president, Helena Davis [email protected].

The International Thespian Society is an honor society for students who love theater. They promote the arts of theater and recognize students for their talents and achievements in the performing arts. The club meets after school every Thursday in Mr. Dayett’s room to discuss fundraising, districts, states, and everything theater. The club president is Logan Yarnell, a senior and the vice president is Joey Kakaty, a sophomore.

“I love Thespians because it provided me with a family when I needed it most.” Club President Logan Yarnell says, “ I found the people there were great, so I got into it so I could be around them more. I now love Thespians because I love both music and theater, but I still love all of the people in it.” 

Thespians have many events for their club members to participate in. One of the many events that just happened was Districts, where you perform in front of judges along with people in your district. Another exciting event is the spring musical, Seussical. Tryouts will be held January 16-19 and the show will be performed in April 2023, Along with many fundraising opportunities. 

In order to be part of this international honors society, you must generate enough points to be inducted into the club. You can gain these points by participating in theater events throughout our school.  

To learn more about The International Thespian Society, you can visit them on Instagram @troupe8628 or you can contact the club advisor, Mr. Dayett, at [email protected].

The Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO Club) was founded just last year here at Marco Island Academy. Last year Katelin Reisinger took it upon herself to create a club that would work to better the environment around us, and involve other students in environmentalist activities.

“This club focuses on helping the community, specifically the environmental aspects. We are currently putting a lot of our energy into helping the garden club, by volunteering with them to clean the parks. We also help advocate for the environment, we’ve written letters to local authorities to speak about issues we find important. The club has also raised over 100 dollars for environmental issues, through bake sales and a variety of other fundraisers”. Is what Katelin Reisinger said when asked what is ECO club?.

Elle Richardson stated, “ Eco works to promote a more environmentally friendly lifestyle”. Elle is a member of the Eco club and is very involved with anything science-related at school. The members of Eco meet every other Thursday in Mrs. Dickinson’s room. They discuss ways to help the environment and brainstorm ideas on what could help them. This club is a great way to express your interest in science and the environment while helping to benefit it. 

For more information on the ECO club, contact Katelin Reisinger at [email protected].

Fellowship of Christian Athletes also known as FCA, is a club of students who come together to get a better understanding of the word. The club is led by Kyle Rahtjen who is also the youth pastor worship leader at Christ Community of Naples. They meet every Thursday in Mr. Montgomery’s room in the morning from 7:45 to 8:10. 

Kyle Rhatjen the leader of FCA also is a youth pastor at Christ Community Church in Naples, FL. Students at MIA attend this church and youth is held on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm. 

“It allows everyone to start their day by hearing the word of the bible and getting encouragement from it in order to start their day,” said Kyle Rahtjen, the club director. “ I love how there’s no requirement to be able to join, there’s no restrictions on where you can or can’t, you can just enter whenever you like.”  

For more information about FCA, contact Kyle Rahtjen at 610-945-0145.

Students interested in making art might want to join Marco Island Academy’s Art Club. This club has meetings every Tuesday after school in room 237. It’s run by art teacher Robert Eder and is designed to teach students how to make sellable art. Students will make art and will attempt to sell it at the 2024 Goodland Art Fair held next spring. This club provides an incredible opportunity for students to express themselves creatively as well as learn what kind of art sells to the average person while doing it.

The Art Club’s most recent adventure was a Saturday field trip to Artis Naples. Students there toured the museum and got to see some very interesting exhibits. While it was a very small event, it was still a very valuable experience. The next event for the Art Club is another field trip to a National Art Fair held in Naples on January 13th next year. Mr. Eder expects this to be a small event as well but it is still open to sign-ups.

Mr. Eder expressed that he really enjoys not just mentoring students and their artwork, but also fostering a sense of a better appreciation for art in general. Saying, “I think there’s a need for appreciation of artwork that really just can’t be fulfilled in the classroom,” Mr. Eder wants to create an atmosphere of positivity and a general place to just chill and make art. This small size of the club isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Mr. Eder. His favorite part of the club is how “Because everyone is here voluntarily, we’re able to discuss a more nuanced approach to the materials and theories of art and artmaking.”

So if you’re interested in interesting philosophical discussions, and technical knowledge on how art is made, or just want a nice place to draw in peace, check out the Art Club.

For more information, you can contact Mr. Eder at [email protected].