Westfield Ice Dogs

      The Westfield Ice Dogs are an ice hockey team coached by Bucky Gallagher, formerly a Westfield parent who started the team when his son attended the school over a decade ago. The Ice Dogs compete in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League (NVSHL), since ice hockey is not yet considered an official school sport in Virginia. In the last few seasons, they have joined with other schools as a provisional team because they did not have enough players from Westfield. Due to this, they are not able to compete in the standard NVSHL playoffs until they can gain enough members.  Despite not being allowed to play in standard playoffs, they were able to win the Provisional Championship last year.  

     John Baranowski, Ice Dogs sponsor and social studies teacher, expressed positive aspirations for the team: “Hopefully we have a bright future and can return to our winning tradition, but we need more players and I hope anyone with experience at Westfield will come out to play next year!”  Anybody interested in the club  can join the team simply by emailing John Baranowski at [email protected].

The Westfield Ice Dogs after winning a championship game. (Photo courtesy of WHS Ice Dogs) 

 Lettuce Club

     The Lettuce Club was formed by a group of Westfield students as a fun way to inform students about the health benefits of eating plant based meals. Members need not follow a vegan diet; they need only an interest in healthful eating.

      The club is currently using social media, specifically Twitter, to spread news about the club during the pandemic, which has prompted substantial growth in membership. Anyone interested in joining this club can reach out to the Lettuce Club’s Twitter at @lettuceclub_whs.  They are always looking for new members to help Westfield “Stay safe, and Stay green,” which is their new slogan for the year, according to Rebbeca Darr, club supervisor.

Gamers Club

      One of the more popular organizations at Westfield is the Gamers Club, which typically plays video games like Super Smash Bros and tabletop games during meetings, but occasionally engages in cards as well.  Members have been able to persevere during the pandemic and continue their activities through different devices such as Nintendo Switch, Playstation and Xbox. They are also using chat platforms like Discord to stay in touch with other club members.

      “Games bring people together,” says club supervisor, Brian Nolton, highlighting why the club is so important to Westfield students. Anyone interested can join the club by emailing Brian Nolton at [email protected].