portsmouth abbey news
New Student Clubs for 2025-26 SChool year
The start of the school year brought with it new student clubs, which were launched with the annual Clubs fair in the Student Center recently. At the fair, club leaders recruited students and outlined their goals and plans for the year. New to the Club program this year are the Agriculture Club and Ballroom Dancing Club.
Established last spring by Sixth-Formers Thao “Bella” Nguyen and Ximing “Cici” Zhou, the Agriculture Club planted a community garden on the north side of campus with the help of Chemistry teacher Susan McCarthy. While local wildlife enjoyed many snacks from the garden, the basil and marigold harvest were plentiful. The club recently harvested and distributed the pumpkins they planted to people across campus.
Ballroom Dance Club, started by Sixth-Former Brigid Dowd, was established to bring students together to learn partner dancing. In their first meeting, students were taught how to waltz by Head of School Matt Walter and his wife, Paula, the international student admission coordinator. They plan to learn the Texas Two-Step and Country Swing in future meetings.
“I think partner dancing is an overlooked skill,” Brigid says, “but it can be really helpful and it’s a fun way for people to connect.”
Director of Residential Life Cat Caplin ’10 oversees the clubs program.
"Clubs at Portsmouth Abbey have a long history of being student-led, with volunteer faculty advisors, which means students get to pursue their passions outside the classroom," she said. "It is so great to see the collaborations and initiatives each year."