Clubs and Activities

Amherst Rock Concert Orchestra
Advisor: Mr. O'Donnell, Orchestra Room, Room 124
Amherst Rock Concert Orchestra - A.R.C.O. (Amherst Rock Concert Orchestra) is a group that meets on Wednesday mornings at 8:15AM in the Orchestra classroom. All 6th, 7th, 8th grade students are welcome to join. This group introduces students to pop music, jazz, and fiddle styles in a rock string orchestra setting including drums, guitars, and keyboard. 
Open to all students, meets Wednesdays at 8:15 a.m.

Art Club
Advisor: Ms. Roeser, Room 151
Art Club will offer opportunities for students to work on more in-depth projects. Art Club will also be collaborating with Amherst Central Perk (the coffee shop at the middle school) to do fundraising for the Tiger's Den food pantry.
All middle school students are welcome to join, there will be three sessions (painting, clay, printmaking), space is limited to 20 students per session.
Art club meets once a month on a Tuesday from 3:55-4:30 p.m. 

Barbershop and Beautyshoppe
Advisor: Mrs. Ayer, Chorus Room
Barbershop and Beautyshoppe are auditioned vocal ensembles of eighth grade students that meet before school during the second semester of the school year. Students involved will audition in January and begin rehearsals at the end of that month, with performances at the Spring Choral concerts and school assemblies. The group meets before school on a date chosen by group members and during occasional lunches. Students must be a member of chorus or choir at Amherst Middle School. 

Central Perk
Advisor: Mrs. Goldman, Room 153
Students will partner with another student who has special needs. They will make and serve coffee, tea and hot chocolate to adults in the building. They may also use a coffee cart to deliver coffee. They will vote on various beverages and other offerings, as well as decide where the money raised will be donated. 
Meets Wednesdays at 8:15 a.m.

Digital Video Club
Advisor: Mr. Schmidle, Library
Digital Video Club allows students to express themselves and their ideas through video production. Using the WeVideo production program students are able to create their own original video content that can be played in the building or among the members of the club itself. Students will address a series of video challenges throughout the year that will help them to develop and implement video as a means of communication and art.
Open to all students, meets Wednesday mornings.

Girls in STEM
Advisors: Ms. Zito & Ms. Sarigiannis, Room 100
Girls in Stem is a safe place where girls can explore their passions in STEM.  Come join us to work on many fun and engaging Stem Projects for math, science, technology and coding.  All girls in grades 6-8 are welcome to come, even if you cannot make it to every meeting. Meets every other Thursday, 4-5:15 p.m.

Jazz Ensemble
Advisor: Mr. Palmer, band room
The Amherst Middle School Jazz Ensemble is a continuation of the jazz program, which is mostly 7th and 8th grade students. The group competes in competitions every year, and has won many awards. The goal of the group is to focus on the jazz tradition and preparing students for high school jazz. The group is limited to Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Guitar, Bass and Piano, and there is a lot of rehearsal time devoted to the art of improvisation, the foundation of Jazz. Meets Wednesday mornings.

Jazz Lab
Advisor: Mr. Biddle, Band Room
The Amherst Middle School Jazz Lab plays rock music, swing, blues, ballads, pop music and big band music. This group performs three times a year for school concerts, the annual awards ceremony, every other year for the AMS talent show and plays at the end-of-year Awards Ceremony.
Open to Grade 6, but also Grades 7 and 8 who are interested; rehearsals are on Tuesday mornings to prepare for events.

Math Club
Advisor: Mrs. Marko, Room 111
MARTH is a creative club that brings Math and Art together in exciting and unexpected ways! Whether you love to draw, build, design, or solve puzzles, this is the perfect place to explore how these two subjects connect and inspire each other. Each week, students will dive into hands-on projects that blend artistic expression with mathematical thinking. From creating geometric art and optical illusions to designing 3D sculptures, fractals, and patterns from nature, MARTH makes math visual, creative, and fun! Open to all students. Meets Wednesday mornings.

Morning Intramurals
Open to all students, no permission slip needed. Wear physical education appropriate clothing.
Grade 6 - Wednesdays at 8:15 a.m.
Grades 7 and 8 - Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:15 a.m.

Mural Club
Advisor: Ms. Gerbec, Room 149
Mural Club is a unique opportunity for students to make a lasting impact on the decor and school environment by designing and painting a new mural each year to replace older damaged or dated ones. Students learn about the Creative Design Thinking Process, like real product developers and advertising teams. The process incluldes ideating, prototyping, reflecting, and editing until the final design is voted on and the green light from Mr Lawniczak is given. Then we sketch and paint the projected image on a wall here at the MS!
Meets Thursday afternoons.

Advisor: Mrs.  Ayer and Mr. Biddle, Chorus Room
Amherst Middle School students have performed an annual musical since 1989. We have a long-standing tradition of excellence and are proud to involve more than 100 students on stage or behind the scenes each year. Consider joining us in the cast or crew for this year’s show! Informational meetings are announced on the morning announcements and are held in early October. Auditions for the show and stage crew sign-ups occur at the end of October. Rehearsals for the show will be held after school from late October through early January, with the final performance the second week of January.
Open to all students, meets October - January after school.

Past Productions

2024 Newsies Jr.
2023 Frozen, Jr.
2022 High School Musical, Jr.
2021 Dear Edwina Online Edition, Jr.
2020 Beauty and the Beast, Jr.
2019 Mary Poppins, Jr.
2018 James and the Giant Peach
2017  Getting to Know...The Sound of Music
2016  The Lion King, Jr.
2015  The Music Man, Jr.
2014  The Wizard of Oz
2013  The Little Mermaid, Jr.
2012  Into the Woods, Jr.
2011  Aladdin, Jr.
2010  Seussical, Jr.
2009  It’s Middle School...the Musical (an AMS original!)
2008  Bugsy Malone, Jr.
2007  Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.
2006  When In Rome
2005  Carniville
2004  Oliver
2003  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2002  Tom Sawyer
2001  Anniversary Production
2000  It’s Music, Man
1999  HMS Pinafore with a Titanic Twist
1998  The Prince and the Pauper
1997  Annie
1996  Oklahoma - OK!
1995  Pete’s Dragon
1994  The Hills of Music
1993  Cinderella Gets Her Fella
1992  Oliver
1991  Coming of Age
1990  Snow White
1989  The Wizard of Oz

Our Stomping Ground
Advisors: Mrs. Hobler, Counseling Center conference room
Our Stomping Ground's purpose is to celebrate the diversity of our cultures and identities at Amherst Middle School. We do this by organizing and hosting events for the school community to honor and educate our community about the diverse cultures and identities at our school.
Open to all students, meets Mondays after school.

Polaris Club (Yearbook)
Advisor: Ms. DiMaria, Room 137
This club creates the yearbook for the school capturing memories throughout the school year. At our meetings, we create yearbook polls, design colorful pages, and take many pictures. We spend a lot of time making sure that names and faces match and that everything is spelled correctly. We put our typing skills to the test as well, and edit pages along the way. The best part is seeing the end result of all our hard work!
Open to all students, meets every Wednesday after school and some Tuesdays during busy times.

Advisor: Mrs. Ayer, Chorus Room
Pop Chorus is a vocal ensemble of students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade that focuses on show tunes and popular music. The group performs several times throughout the school year at evening concerts and school assemblies. There is no audition required to join, but students need to be a member of Chorus at AMS. Meets Tuesday and Thursday mornings before school at 8:15 a.m.

Service Club
Advisor: Mrs. Primerano, Counseling Center
The Service Club will help to organize various activities to help the school and community. Some of these activities may include food drives & helping with the “Tiger Treasures” thrift store.
Open to all students, meets every other Tuesday at 3:55 - 4:30 p.m. Listen for announcements for first meeting.
 

Tech Club
Advisors: Mr. Schupp and Ms. Sarigiannis, Room 114
Join our exciting Tech Club, where 6th, 7th, and 8th graders explore hands-on projects and compete in a local Tech Wars competition! Students will design and build innovative Technology and Engineering projects such as bridges, paper air skimmers, mousetrap-powered cars and robotic dragsters. This club provides a fantastic opportunity to develop engineering and hands-on skills, collaborate with peers, and showcase creativity and problem-solving abilities in a fun and competitive environment.
Meets Wednesday afternoons.

Tiger Tube
Advisor: Mr. Schmidle, Library
Tiger Tube is responsible for producing daily video shows aired on YouTube that highlight daily announcements, the daily weather, and any special events happening within the school. Students participate in a variety of on-camera and off-camera activities. Students learn a great deal about public speaking skills as well as develop advanced technology skills through their use of video production equipment.
Open to all students, meets daily at 8:15-8:45 a.m.

Ventures
Advisor: Mrs. Chomen, Room 219
Ventures is an AMS club that creates different types of literature such as songs, fictional stories, and poetry. At the end of the year, we design our Ventures Literary magazine that showcases all of the work and illustrations members have created. Members will have the opportunity to run a fun fundraiser too. If you enjoy creative writing and illustrating, then this is the club for you. Members will be expected to create 3 pieces of literature throughout the coming months. If this is something you are serious about and interested in, please join us.
Open to all students, meets first Wednesday of each month at 8:15 a.m. Listen to announcements for start date.

Yarn & Fiber Arts Club
Advisors: Ms. DiSilvestro-Young & Mr. Romano, Counseling Center conference room
Yarn club is an AMS club that welcomes all established, beginner or somwhere in between crocheters and knitters.  No experience is necessary - we will teach students how to knit or crochet based on their interest.  We are hoping to donate finished items to charities that we will vote on and perhaps a field trip at the end of the year to a nursing home or Ronald McDonald house to donate items in person.  Knitting and crochet is a fun and relaxing way to create garments, plush toys, gifts, etc. and we hope to help the students de-stress and get creative.  The possibilities are endless as to how far they can take their craft.

Open to all students. Meetings Wednesday afternoons.