Academic Team (Quiz Bowl)
Calling all trivia buffs! The Briarcliff Academic Team is the perfect club for students who enjoy competing in a quiz bowl format. Students will practice in teams, compete with schools from the tri-state area, and have the possibility of competing in the NAQT National Tournament! Students on the Briarcliff Academic Team will have the opportunity to continue competing at the high school level, on our very successful MLHS Academic Team!
Advisor: Mr. Michael Alves
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: Unlimited
Meeting Day: Mondays (September - May)
Time: 2:45pm - 3:45pm
Pickup: Front of Briarcliff
Debate Club
Debate is the highest level of public speaking. Students in the Debate Club will be formed into teams of five students. Each team will research and prepare arguments on two sides of a controversial issue. The teams will ultimately attend a regional debate tournament including teams from other schools in northern New Jersey. During the tournament, students will follow formal rules for debate as they argue their points and present "on-the-spot" rebuttals of their opponents' arguments. Winning teams will earn plaques for their schools!
Advisor: TBA
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: 2 Varsity Teams & 2 JV Teams (20 Student Maximum)
Meeting Day: Mondays (April - May). There will be a meeting on 4/1 during period 9 & after school
Time: Period 9
Destination Imagination (DI)
DI brings it all together! If you are available after school, and want to take on one of the most rewarding experiences out there for middle school students, then this program is for you!
Destination Imagination is a volunteer-led, educational non-profit organization that teaches 21st century skills and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) principles to kindergarten through university level students through collaborative problem solving challenges. While many educational programs focus on STEAM, Destination Imagination takes things a step further, with its emphasis on service-learning!
DI Teams work throughout the school year with parent and teacher mentors who serve as team managers. In March, our DI Teams will compete with teams from other schools in northern New Jersey!
District DI Coordinator: Mrs. Erica Ebersole
Advisor: (Individual Team Managers)
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: Unlimited Teams of 4-6 Students
Meeting Day: (Determined by Team Manager); (October - March)
Time: 2:45pm - 3:45pm
Pick-up: Front of Briarcliff
Geography Bee
Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National Geographic Society's GeoBee! The GeoBee is an annual competition designed to inspire and reward students' curiosity about the world. Students will prepare for the bee by signing up for our "Bee Ready'' PEP. We will hold a school bee for these students in January. The winner of our school bee will then be permitted to take the state qualifying exam. If our winner scores within the top 100 students on this exam, he/she will advance to the state competition, held at the end of March! Finally, the winner of the state championship will be invited to compete in the national championship in Washington D.C., in May!
Advisor: Mr. Joseph Foster
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: Unlimited
Meeting Day: Mondays (November - January)
Time: Period 9
BC's 2020 National Geographic Geography Bee will take place on TBA. Sign ups will take place immediately after school on TBA
Junior Model United Nations (J-MUN)
Students in J-MUN are assembled into 4-person teams and assigned a United Nations member nation to research and represent at the NJCGTP J-MUN conference, in early February. Teams will utilize our weekly work sessions, as well as time outside of school, to write position papers on current issues from their country's perspective. Students will present these positions at the General Assembly of the J-MUN, vote, and author a formal United Nations Resolution. Throughout this process, students learn to take on a world-perspective, increase their capacity to work with others, and develop valuable debate, negotiation, and public speaking skills.
Advisor: TBA
Grade Level: 7-8
Class Size/Team Total: 20
Meeting Day: Mondays (December - January)
Time: Period 9
Math Club
Attention Mathletes! The Briarcliff Math Club is great for students who enjoy problem-solving and puzzles-(reverse order), working with others, and challenging themselves. During club meetings, students will work independently or together to solve challenging math problems from a variety of organizations. Students in the Math Club will have an opportunity to participate in contests such as delete, AMC8, New Jersey Math League, Math Olympiads, and Math Counts. High scoring students will be recognized by both our school and the organizations!
Advisor: Mrs. Michelle Major
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: Unlimited
Meeting Day: Thursdays (October - February)
Pickup: Front of Briarcliff
National History Bee
The IAC National History Bee is a history quiz competition for individual students, provided by the International Academic Competitions organization. The process for participation begins with an online qualifying exam taken at Briarcliff Middle School, in January. Top scoring students will be invited to participate in the Regional Finals and National Championship!
Advisor: Mr. Joseph Foster
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: Unlimited
Meeting Day: Mondays (November - January)
Time: Period 9
Spelling Bee
Spelling Bees afford students an opportunity to showcase their knowledge of spelling rules and exceptions, and mastery of phonics. Our Language Arts teachers conduct grade-level bees in their classrooms, in which all students participate. The top students from each class participate in our much-anticipated school-wide bee, held on TBA. The top ten spellers from our school-wide Spelling Bee then compete against top spellers from other schools in northern New Jersey at the NJCGTP (New Jersey Consortium for Gifted and Talented Programs) Spelling Bee!
Advisor: TBA
Grade Level: 6-8
Class Size/Team Total: 10 Students
Workshop on the Arts (WoTA)
Workshop on the Arts is a two-day event for students talented in art, drama, creative writing, dance, vocal music, and instrumental music. Students will be selected for participation in this workshop based on application submissions for their area of talent. Application submissions will be reviewed by a committee of our building specialists in each talent area and two students per area will be selected for participation in the workshop.
During the Workshop on the Arts, mixed groups of students from different schools/districts are given the same scenario. Professionals gifted in each of the arts work with the students on the first day to develop the skills necessary to create a production based on this scenario. Students will hone their skills in script-writing, scenery, music, props, and performance. Two professionals will remain on the second day as facilitators, rehearsing with each group and making suggestions for improvement. Finally, each amateur theater company will give its full-blown production to their peers. Professionals and peers give appropriate praise and constructive criticism in the final debriefing.
Advisor: TBA
Grade Level: 7-8
Class Size/Team Total: 12 (max of 2 students per area, selected via application process)
Meeting Day: N/A - Applications due TBA
Time: WoTA takes place in January