Extracurricular Activities

3 in 1 stands for covering each strand of the CAS program: creativity, action, and service. Activities the club organizes include hikes and cultural trips, art sessions with art major university students as mentors and fundraisers, like the one leading to March 8, 2023 for the benefit of the organization One in 8 in support of those fighting cancer. The goal of the club with these activities is to provide an opportunity for students to try out different things at the same time developing new skills, and ultimately find what they like and grow as individuals.

In a world where there are already houses and organs being 3D printed, we in the 3D Printing Club help you prepare well. We teach you how to make amazing 3D models. We also teach you how to deal with problems regarding modeling, printing, filaments, temperatures, 3D support structures design and so much more. And we try to convey all that information in a fun and engaging way, through practical activities with all the great tech we have at the SCIFI labs.

The ACS Cheerleading Club is an essential part of ACS as it provides support to all our sports teams at their matches. We create our choreographies together and practice them at our weekly meetings to then perform them at as many matches as we can possibly attend. The Cheerleading Club is not only a very fun experience, it’s also a great thing to put in your portfolio. Our purple dresses the color of the school make for very cute pictures, too.

The Golf Club was created some years ago as an initiative from ACS students under the guidance of Sports teacher Ms. Papazova. From September to November we train outside - long shots, pitching, chipping, and putting. In spring, the Golf Club visits the National Sports Academy and receives useful advice. When the weather outside is not suitable for practice, we move inside in the Fitness Center and practice putting or we learn about and discuss golf terms, laws, and vocabulary through instructional videos, quizzes, and Kahoots online.

HeARTs - Healing Arts is a club, that started in Nairobi, Kenya by ACS social-emotional counselor Ms. Nandi Blanchard. Her mission then was to uplift the lives of children, facing adversity and recovery within various hospitals across the capital. Today, we proudly carry forward Ms. Blanchard's legacy here at ACS. Our overarching objective is to harness the power of the arts as a means to support individuals navigating challenging circumstances. By collaborating with various clubs at the College, we aim to make use of each area of the arts to help stimulate others mentally and perform therapeutic relief. We built HeARTs with the simple goal of expanding the College beyond its academic norms, by embracing the creative side of our members and inspiring them to express themselves through arts, while also maintaining a healthy and positive mindset.

The figure skating club ACS on ICE epitomizes grace, athleticism, and artistry. In an effort to promote figure skating within the community, the club holds discussions on iconic routines and techniques during the week, while weekend meetings see its members, ranging from beginners to adept skaters, transform theory into action at the city's ice rink in the Winter Palace.

ACS Photography Club is for photography enthusiasts who wish to improve their skills in capturing the perfect moment and editing, as well as learning new skills and techniques together with like-minded peers. We study about composition, lighting, color, etc, and apply what we learn in the real world in various locations and weather conditions. We shoot on and off campus and then discuss and edit the photos in the SCIFI labs. We have fun while learning and get to express ourselves differently.

The Rock Band Club is focused on helping its members socialize and express themselves through music. The goal is to construct a safe space for people to perform, experiment, and create in any music genre or form. Everyone who can play an instrument or sing can join. The club organizes and aims to improve the Music Jam event, their annual concert, and create and perform at other events, as well.

The ACS Dance Program is based on a modern-contemporary style, combined with a variety of classical, ethno, house, pop and film music.

Memorizing choreography and executing complex movements is an excellent exercise for the brain and the spirit. Dance also teaches skills that help in many aspects of life, including: increased focus, greater ability to listen to and follow directions, practice overcoming challenges, and greater ability to express emotion. Dance also helps develop rhythm, coordination and music appreciation.

Our mission is to “tell a story" using the body, acting and performing - at the Christmas concerts and Arts Fest at the end of the school year. The road is long, but worth it.

We believe that dancing is a necessity, which can grow into an internal love and appreciation. 

In the E-Sports Club, students can gather and enjoy playing their favorite video games with friends. Our club unites gamers from the College and we hold weekly meetings. Unfortunately, we are limited to meeting online, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. There are 2 competitive teams that represent the College in tournaments - one for CS:GO and one for League of Legends. There is one coach for each team that hand picks people for the roster through a careful selection process and plays with them every week. This year, our CS:GO team consists of Global Elite players, part of the top 1% in the European region. Our League of Legends players range from Diamond players to our Grandmaster coach. Beside the competitive teams, there are the casual players who meet once a week and play chill games on a Saturday night. This year we have had friendly games in CS:GO, League of Legends, Halo Infinite, Rocket League, Among Us, and Minecraft. We organize a few tournaments a year in different games for the community and we have been very successful. The club gives Activity and/or Creativity as CAS strands if you participate in the meetings, and if you help organize any of the weekly activities, you will receive Service.

by Angela Kolarova 23’ and David Gaydev 23’

The Fashion Club was created in 2020 to gather together people who share a passion for the world of fashion. Each year, our talented members work on various projects that not only help them learn more about fashion in general but also deepen their understanding of their personal fashion style. Our activities include:

• discussions on fashion topics (like current trends, fashion shows, and various events)
• projects like fashion magazines, moodboards, and outfit compositions
• workshops where members learn how to choose fabrics, make patterns, and sew clothes and accessories
• presentations about fashion universities and possible careers in fashion
• brand management investigations - exploring how fashion brands operate

Last year, the club applied for SAF and was sponsored with 440 leva, which were used to buy fabrics and sewing materials for our workshops. The funding was an amazing opportunity for us to expand our knowledge on garment production.

By joining our club, members are given the opportunity to learn the basics of working in fashion and enjoy fashion with others.

The many projects that we do (all of which are carefully documented with photos and screenshots) make our club a fun way to fulfill your Creativity and Service CAS strand.

We have two football teams, represented by players from 8th-10th grade (ACS II) and students from 11th and 12th grade (ACS I). We hold practices every week and with each week we get better and evolve as a team. Our goal is to create a cohesive team with great spirit and try to achieve the highest results possible. Both teams participate in various tournaments with other schools and most of the time the results are really good. The latest challenge, the Tournament of the Private Schools, was a great success for our first team. They managed to win all of their games with big difference and won the tournament. One of the biggest achievements in recent times was the international tournament last year in Israel. Once again ACS I managed to win all of the games, winning the tournament and expanding the school's reputation internationally. Overall, the football teams are really important for the school because we perform well, create a great team, increase ACS’s sports reputation and have a lot of fun doing it.

ACS Instrumental Music Studio provides opportunities for students to develop performing skills and to perform classical music on stage.

In addition to developing performing and artistic skills, our goals are focused on learning more about classical music composers and styles, as well as gaining knowledge in music theory. To achieve those goals we are working on different solo and ensemble pieces from different classical eras.

We are rehearsing in individual time periods (once or twice a week for each student), except when we prepare an ensemble work and when we have dress rehearsals for the stage events.

Our main concerts are the ACS Classical Concert each spring and the classical spotlight presented at the Arts Fest.

The ACS Musical brings together students who share a passion for theater and the performing arts. It also strives to foster an appreciation of all forms of the performing arts and provides opportunities for artistic and personal growth for the benefit of the ACS community.

We lead the students through all stages of a full scale Musical Production. 

We build a cast of committed students who are capable of delivering meaningful messages to the audience, through music, dance, acting.

The ACS Running Club is for those who at some point in their life have caught a glimpse of the wonderful world of athletics and running, and have asked themselves "How on Earth do athletes do this?” The club aims to help understand why and how people run fast and far, combining science theory and practice. The club gives access to interesting lectures in all aspects of running that cllub members then apply and test in practice. We make running more understandable and enjoyable for everyone who decides to participate, and most importantly -- we make it fun! We take part in different running races as a team, create new friendships, gain knowledge, and bond with a healthy and active lifestyle for life.

In ACS Swifties, the College's official Taylor Swift Club, we strive to establish a safe and welcoming environment for all TS enthusiasts, as well as people who wish to become ones. We hold weekly meetings in which all fans can relax and share their appreciation for the singer-songwriter with other like-minded members of our school community. We dive into the worlds her lyrics have created, discussing everything Taylor Swift – All Too Well: The Short Film, her music, music videos, and album lore included. The organization of themed events, collaborations with other clubs and committees in the College, participation in fundraisers, etc.

The ACS Tennis Club revolves around instilling a profound love for tennis, refining club members' skills, and cultivating a warm and inclusive tennis community. The club's objective encompasses rendering tennis more accessible at ACS, championing teamwork and sportsmanship, and furnishing an enjoyable and dynamic ambiance for student development through this sport inside and outside the College.

The ACS Sports Bridge Club was founded in the Fall semester of 2022. Since Bridge is а complex game and many students join the club without previous experience, every meeting starts with a review and а lesson on the system for announcements between playing partners, followed by a practice session with sets of cards specifically arranged according to the lesson. Club meetings usually continue with playing games of randomized cards, which are not focused on the specific lesson but rather aim to develop students' skills in creating strategies, and making the best of the hand of cards that they have, according to the decided "contract" of the game. Bridge is known to be great at exercising memory, focus, strategic thinking, patience, and collaborative and communication skills.

The Adventure Club provides the students an opportunity to run away to the mountains every now and then and to create unforgettable memories. Club members spend weekends hiking and exploring the beautiful Bulgarian nature, following the river streams in kayaks, discovering hidden trails on their bikes, and many more. Club members pick up valuable skills along the way- how to navigate the mountain, work together, and build a camp. Club activities have helped students bond with each other and build a great community of adventurers across all grade levels.

Тhe Animal Rescue Volunteers Club's main goal is to spread awareness, aid, and improve both our own environment and the lives of animals in need. The club strives to create a better temporary environment and a better life for animals who never had a loving home, until they find their forever home and caring family. Club activities include walks and games with the dogs in the shelter and outside, organizing fundraisers, and potentially giving a temporary home. Statistically speaking, the Animal Rescue Sofia has found a home for more than 7,000 dogs and is constantly in the process of securing adoption for more of the animals in the shelter. Dog walks are held at 11 am every Saturday, while the additional care for the puppies is available all week long for those that want to. All animal lovers willing to volunteer are welcome to join this club!

The API Programming Club of ACS was established at the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year by Teodora Marinova and Valerie Kamberova. The purpose of the club is for club members to learn different types of software, depending on their interests. Last year, we learned to create Discord bots integrating the Discord.js library into JavaScript code, and looked at basic implementation of MySQL databases, as well as various forms of machine learning. Our biggest project is the annual APIPC Game Jam, which is open for the whole ACS community and some amazing prizes are awarded. Participants are to program a game on their own with complete freedom over the choice of programming language and coding environment. We also help them in the process by teaching basic game development techniques. As the APIPC is renewing for a new year of coding, we will hold more similar events as well as events for students who are not as experienced in programming. This year, our intent is to invite programmers to speak in front of the club and even the whole ACS society. We regularly hold lectures at our weekly club meetings every Thursday after classes in ABB111.

At our App Development Club, we acquire skills in Flutter, which is a versatile framework that enables us to create applications that can run seamlessly on various mobile platforms and even on the web. We have regular sessions where we give lectures on different aspects of Flutter. In between these sessions, we are working on an innovative app that acts as a portal for users to discover and join CAS activities. Another app that we are aspiring to develop is a game hub that features a variety of mobile games.

During this year, the Art club organized and participated in a series of initiatives. At the beginning of October, our members submitted beautiful artwork for the Fall edition of the All-In Magazine. Towards the end of October, we prepared decorations for the school Cafeteria, as well as a candy collecting station for everybody to spread joy during the holiday. The club worked together to create a dragon that was hung in the Cafeteria, as well as two stations for candy located in the hallways. The whole idea was inspired by Studio Ghibli’s movie “Spirited Away”. During November, we participated in the ACS Thanksgiving Bazaar, organized by the Fundraising committee. We created Thanksgiving cards, as well as paintings and bookmarks. For Thanksgiving, we also created personalized digital cards to be sent out to every American teacher on the day of the holiday. During December we introduced the “Mythology, Illustrated” competition - a school-wide contest for students to showcase their amazing creativity and skills. Over the next few months, we waited for submissions and started thinking about what we could do for the upcoming Spring season. We came up with the Baba Marta initiative, where members of our club created beautiful Martenitsi with already available materials, which were then sold, with the intention for the money raised  to be donated to the Bulgarian Red Cross, in order to help the victims of the tragic earthquakes in Turkey. 

The mission of the club is to give people a hand with their academics and struggles in life. One of the most prominent and exciting initiatives the club members have partook in is kindergarten volunteering. In this project students from the American College of Sofia go to kindergartens in Sofia and help with tasks there, such as playing with the children, dancing, teaching English, and assisting the teachers with more responsible tasks. This year, we are planning to scale up the club as well as scale up the kindergarten activities we do. Recently, we started a fundraiser for a water well in Africa. We are happy to assist people and everyone is welcome to join!

The club meets every Monday at 3:45. Usually one presenter (usually the president, vice-president or sponsor, but open to members interested in the topic) will give a presentation and short lecture on a topic in astronomy. This involves human astronomy, history of astronomy, geography of space (descriptions of various astronomical objects and phenomena) or problem solving. These problems are usually connected either to physics in or out of the curriculum as well as preparation for the astronomy olympiads.

Additionally throughout the year the club will host astronomy nights and observations (both morning and evening). Some of these are restricted to members of the club, while others are open to the Greater ACS Community. Evening observations involve the club meeting together and participating in team building activities (for example watching a movie) until the planets (or other astronomical objects) align - usually until 7-8 pm, at which point we observe said objects through Mr. Youngs’ telescope. Morning observations usually after daylight savings at around 6-8 am, in order to minimize light pollution. Note: Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the activities that require meeting in person are on hold, though they are still exemplary for the club.

The club will also have activities in the SCIFI space for different Astronomy-related projects. This works both as a team-building activity and an opportunity to become more acquainted with SCIFI.

https://stellarium.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rHUDWjR5gg&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPAJr1ysd5yGIyiSFuh0mIL

https://astro-olymp.org/

The Automobiles and Racing Club’s mission is to educate people about how an automobile functions, driving on public roads and discuss different racing series like Formula 1, Formula E, Rally series, etc. This is going to be achieved by discussions, lectures and workshops which concentrate on the aforementioned topics. There will also be practical examples and applications of the learned information, which are going to be useful in real-life situations. An example of these is learning about basic road signs, rules and manoeuvres in specific real-life situations. We are also going to discuss innovations and technologies in modern-day cars

We are mainly focused on the Creativity strand of the CAS system, but we can organise events in which Activity and Service CAS can be acquired. Such events may be a go-kart race at the Sofia Karting Ring circuit or other circuits, meetings of the club members on Sundays during which we are going to watch and discuss a number of Formula 1 races together, meetings with motorsport commentators and or drivers, track days and many more.

Last year we had a formal 2 hour long online meeting with the F1 commentator Momchil Manchev, who told us all about commentating and his career in it, and answered our questions about motorsport and his ties to it. Another activity we organised last year was a karting race at the Sofia Ring Mall karting circuit, where we had a lot of fun together.

In the Arabian Culture club, we explore, discuss, and research aspects of oriental culture. With every single meeting, we dive even more into the world of these countries that are too often overlooked. We go over their delicious and amazing cuisine, different periods of their arts and literature, the specifics of their beautiful language, and much more. But one thing that makes our club unique is that we have a person who grew up with that culture and knows every bit of it - our president. With every new week, we do our best to have activities that will help explain to our members the complexity of this region - we discuss the language, the different countries, the calligraphy, and anything else you can think of. We also try food together and visit important places for that culture. 

Recently our club organized an event for its members, where everybody had to make a traditional Arabic dish. With this everybody was able to personally experience the famous cuisine. The event was a great success as everyone managed to have fun, try and learn new things.

Another special thing we are trying to achieve with our club in the future is to have a Culture Fest for everybody who is interested in different cultures from all over the world. We aim to make sure that no one is left out.

BG drama devotes itself through rehearsals and practice to educating students in different aspects of Drama: 

• acting
• directing
• stagecraft

Additionally, it educates the ACS students in the history of the performance text preparing them for the performance in their mother tongue. It is in the play where the students may unlock their hidden talents in and take journey in theater.

The Bulgarian Folk Dancing Club is a club created in 2019. The club is focused on dancing only Bulgarian folk dances - hora.

The club instantly attracted people that were interested in learning more about Bulgarian culture and dancing our traditional dances. During our meetings we dance and talk more about each region in Bulgaria. As a group, we choreographed our own dance for the Christmas concert. At the end of the event we formed a horo that attracted the audience of the concert to be part of the ACS community and show how important the Bulgarian heritage is.

Another thing we did last year was visiting the Daily Epilepsy Center for children. We taught them how to dance simple folk dances and played board games with them. It was a memorable experience that we cannot currently do but hope to continue with such activities when the pandemic is over.

When the pandemic started, we created a video that greeted the ACS community by wishing them a happy holiday and showing them what each club member learned throughout the year. This year, we saw each other in person while going to school and we are currently meeting online. In our online meetings we aim to gain more knowledge about each ethnographic region in Bulgaria. Also, if possible, we would like to participate in the Christmas concert and Arts Fest - both hosted by ACS.

Our goals for next year are to participate in more concerts and try to attend events where we can show how much we have learned. We are proud to share our story so far and continue to make history in the ACS community. Our club aims to gain more participants in our club so that we can form a longer horo. :)

The main purpose of the club is to organize seminars where the participants meet leading Bulgarian businessmen, learn valuable tips in order to succeed in their own career path, attend interesting workshops with professionals from different spheres of business and economics. Through discussions spanning international relations, entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, and the realty sector, students move beyond the confines of material in the school curriculum. In the seminars, we also discuss topics on the Bulgarian and world economy and politics. Some of the most interesting speakers that have come to deliver lectures are Mr. Stanimir Iliev, NDSV party member and former MEP, Mr. Levon Hampartzoumian, former CEO of UniCredit Bulbank, Ms. Milena Dencheva, main director of Lidl Bulgaria, Ms. Ralitsa Slavova, CEO at Maxxium Bulgaria, and many more. Some of our guests, such as Ms.Elena Marinova and Elvin Gury, have even been on the cover of Forbes Bulgaria. This year we will organize a fundraising event to raise money for donation and continue inviting exciting guests. We plan on organizing an event for the student body in the College to come and listen to lectures by some of the most accomplished Bulgarian businessmen from different spheres.

This is a relatively new club at ACS. It was formed in 2021 for all the people that like calisthenics (body weight exercise), and especially for everyone who wants to learn more about this type of training. This is a nice environment where people can progress and keep fit whilst learning something new each time. With the help of Mr. Lozanchev, we finally formed the club and the student response has been great. Among the members of the club, there are many with advanced calisthenics experience, which they are always willing to share. The club organizes different calisthenics-related activities, ranging from simple workouts to other more fun and entertaining games and competitions. There is no minimum progress level to participate: both absolute beginners to calisthenics and people who have achieved significant success in this field are regular participants in the club's meetings.

More about our Mission Statement:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dHY6Bk7U5ONW9Cj0kPFCvnK-GcYSF0AlIe6zO7pVjUE/edit?usp=sharing

The Career Orientation Club was founded in 2016. Since then, the club has been involved in different meetings and events in order to help young people decide their future plans and career paths. The club holds weekly meetings when members can discuss their ideas for the future and help each other with information, support, etc. Throughout the academic years, there have been seminars and presentations which helped students learn more about the professions they are interested in and talk to different people from certain professional areas. The organization of the Career Fair is also one of the most important events in our club - it has been organized twice (in 2017 and 2019) and it will be conducted once more in March 2023. It has been a very successful event, attended by a significant number of students from ACS.

Chemistry Club is a club that aims to take science outside the classroom and expand the common knowledge that the students have from their regular classes. The activities that are initiated by the participants are closely connected with scientific experiments and with the background knowledge connected with them. The club also provides opportunities to lead group activities and develop leadership skills. 

The main reason for the Chemistry club is to engage more students in the exciting aspect  of performing experiments even without the pressure of academics. The students who are not quite engaged in this type of activity in regular classes can challenge their own curiosities and do experiments that they enjoy the most. Experiments are an important part of the scientific method that help students engage in group activities, allowing them to observe processes that show the beauty of chemistry.

The Creative Writing Club is much more than an affiliation to school. It combines both independent and group work through various activities: from competitions, presentations, critiquing one another’s work, to going on walks outside that may give us inspiration, discussing books, and other pleasurable pursuits. 

No author has the formula to perfect writing, since there is no such thing, and that is what makes it so exceptional and bewitching- this is what our club will promote. Mistakes are normal and the first step to improvement is making such errors which expand the space for long-term growth. Furthermore, the level of your ability is in no way of importance: you can be completely unfamiliar with the writing process or you could have engaged in the activity for years. In any case, our goal is certain: to expand your writing potential.

Ultimately, the idea of the club is to bring together students from all grade levels who will combine their own unique experiences and different starting points. However, they will all have one thing in common: the love for writing. We aspire to create a safe space for people to independently express themselves through the 26 English letters and cannot wait for the meaningful connections that we will form with one another during the course of this school year!

https://blog.reedsy.com/writing-contests/

https://dystopianstories.com/writing-competitions-contests/

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-creative-writer-all-genres-a-full-course/

Donation Station Service Club is for students who are willing to support those in our society who find themselves in most need, while receiving the inner pleasure of helping. We have weekly presentations and discuss potential ideas for future events that would engage our school community in service activities. We organize charity initiatives with fundraising purposes for different causes. We enjoy collaborating with other clubs, such as Student Council, Teach for Bulgaria, Helping Hand, Healthy Lifestyle, and Keep Our Planet Alive.

The club was originally founded in 1933. It was reestablished after the reopening of the College and since then it is an essential part of the CAS program. Since the founding of the National Debate Team in 2015, ACS students from the club have been forming the backbone of the team, with a record 4 out of 9 people on the team coming from the college. For two consecutive years (2017 and 2018) the national debate cup (BDA Open) was won by ACS students.

We hold weekly debates where members can try out and develop their public speaking skills and get detailed individual feedback afterwards. We also hold workshops and exercises aimed at improving specific skills. On a regular basis, the club is taking part in debate tournaments in Bulgaria.

Events: We hold the ACS Debate Open annually, where teams from the entire country gather to compete for one of the most prestigious debating trophies in the country.

Debate Blog - https://sites.google.com/acsbg.org/otvaryashtopravitelstvo/%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%8A%D1%82-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8

Discover Bulgaria is a club devoted to Bulgarian culture, literature, some history, nature, and mysteries. It has been around in the American College of Sofia for more than a decade and it attracts a lot of new members every year. Its purpose is to educate its members about Bulgarian facts concerning its culture. Here we do presentations on different topics about significant Bulgarian events, people, or places. Later, these presentations are all collected in a single google website. Its purpose is to be of use to other students or people who are interested in the topics that we discuss. Ideally, the club also invites guest speakers to talk about a specific professional field that has something to do with the main themes of Discover Bulgaria. We organize visits to museums and hikes that have a purpose of enjoyment and appreciation of the beautiful Bulgarian nature. We collaborate with other school organizations like The Fountain and SMACS (Short movies). The goal of DIscover Bulgaria is for its members to have fun while actively participating in activities that interest every one of us. Discover Bulgaria is a place where all members feel welcome and are strongly encouraged to take part in club projects and activities. The projects include group work as well as individual research. Discover Bulgaria strives to be flexible enough so that the topics that are discussed are interesting and relevant to everyone.

The Economics Club aims to help students gain valuable knowledge and experience in the field of economics. Our mission is to provide a better understanding of global, national and local economic issues that are confronting society.  We also help those students who would like to prepare for AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics. We have an enormous amount of materials and resources to share with the participants of our club. In Google Classroom, we publish helpful sources, discussion questions, quizzes, exam techniques, videos, and small group projects. We aim to inspire interest in the subject and guide others to choose economics as a career path if they think it will be beneficial for their future. The idea is not only to lay out the basic concepts of economics, but to create the link between the theory that the school system teaches students and reality. We plan to equally divide our time between microeconomics and microeconomics. For microeconomics, the material includes supply and demand, production, cost, and perfect competition model, factor markets, market failures, and much more. For macroeconomics, we focus on economic indicators, business cycle, national income, open economy, etc. Examples of issues we aim to deepen our knowledge include strategies for managing inflation through monetary and fiscal policy and how to make economic decisions based on the idea of opportunity cost. We try to make our theory lessons interesting and apply concepts like game theory to real-life situations where oligopoly exists such as the OPEC's oil price strategy. We try to connect economics to multiple fields of knowledge to inspire interest and practical knowledge. For instance, we discuss the relation between The Tragedy of the Commons and ethics and environmental science to show that we should be responsible citizens. Even more, we are not only talking about current on-going issues, but also ones that have occurred throughout history, in order to create a parallel between the past and the present. The students are encouraged to ask questions if they don’t understand something or want to learn more and thus we aim to help them benefit and expand their knowledge in the field of economics.

English Drama's mission is to provide performance opportunities for all interested students of ACS, encourage learning through performing arts, acknowledge the educational power of theater, build better relations within the ACS community.

We build a team of motivated and dedicated students, and produce a quality drama production, and present it in front of an audience. We entertain and inspire the public.

The Entrepreneurship Club aims to open new opportunities for students to better themselves and learn a lot about the business world. It is a great chance for students interested in studying business, economics, management, finance and marketing or students who simply want to learn more about the world of entrepreneurship. Some of the activities we plan to continue doing are regular meetings with influential people who will talk about their success, the hardships they had to face, their area of interest, etc. In addition, we will have meetings every week focused on mindset, work ethic, start ups and more. Members of the club will have the chance to discuss and learn more not only about entrepreneurship but innovations and global markets as well. It is a great way to self-improve and earn creativity and service CAS hours. Students will improve their creativity by participating in discussions, creating presentations, giving ideas, and completing different handouts. Members will get service hours by organizing projects, lectures, and presenting to fellow members. The club meetings this year will be focused on self growth, start up strategies, innovations and technology use in the field of entrepreneurship.

Finance & Investment Club aims for students to gain knowledge about the world of finance and investment. This happens by setting up meetings and events with financial experts who work in the business sector and have a vast knowledge of investment and the stock market. Additionally, we publish helpful materials on our area of focus so that the students can learn more. Through brief quizzes and comments on their Google Classroom assignments, we encourage them to reflect on their work. Through the use of online trading simulators, we learn the fundamentals of stock and bond investment and analyze investment portfolios. Overall, we try to gain a basic understanding of how the stock market operates and where we might be able to apply our knowledge and resources to make a profit. Lastly, our club will focus on project-based learning. This means that we do projects and presentations related to finance and investment. Example topics include analyzing whether an IPO is good or bad for companies like Porsche and Prada, identifying flaws in the structure and processes in big companies like Coca-Cola, and providing solutions using monetary policies, for instance. We make case studies and industry and market analyses on investment processes. As an example, we researched the recent UBB (United Bulgarian Bank) acquisition of Raiffeisen Bank since these are two of the biggest Bulgarian banks and are of great importance to the Bulgarian financial sector. In this club members share knowledge and insight with everyone, and in this way, they feel comfortable talking about finance and performing different investment strategies. Our purpose is  to get educated on investment banking and learn more about different careers in finance.

The club First Aid aims to expand the knowledge of ACS students in providing first aid to injured people in an accident until the arrival of the emergency medical team. The club members will gain general theoretical and practical knowledge and skills on how to act if they accidentally find themselves in an accident situation. The training includes presentations, practical exercises and tasks in simulated incidents, and interactive games to learn more easily the steps in each emergency.

Having the desire to help is not enough: you should learn how to do it. We aspire to attract and train as many college students as possible to provide first aid, because the difference between life and death for the victim is sometimes seconds or minutes. Everyone of us may save a human life, but we need to know what and how to do it. The gained experience here, in the club, will remain for a lifetime.

Fission is an international science fair organized by students, for students, at ACS. We aim to bring students around Bulgaria and internationally to share their science projects and get evaluated by a professional jury. Students receive a certificate for participation, and the best projects in each category win special awards that are managed and organized by the Fission Team. This event has been online for the past few years due to the pandemic, so this year we aim to organize an in-person event at the end of March. The members of the club meet weekly to share ideas and work on making this event happen, led by Dr. Krasimira Chakarova. The FISSION club works hard from the start of the year to provide the guests with the most amazing, comfortable and educational science fair. We look for sponsors, manage the site and communicate with potential participants, supervisors and jury. The idea is to expand our network to more Bulgarian and international schools in order to encourage students to be innovative and create a Science Fair project on the topics of Physics Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Sciences, Mathematics. More information can be found on the Official Fission site provided in the link below. 

FISSION Official site: https://fission.acs.bg/index.html

We are Mila Koleva ‘25 and Zlatina Yankova ‘25, the presidents of the “Food and Stories of the Past” club . We are having meetings during consultation time every Wednesday at Ms. Yoanna Ninova’s room (ABB 308) and everyone is free to join at any time - we are open for new members. Our club is an innovative and upgraded version of the History club at the American College of Sofia. The activities focus on learning new things related to history, developing a better understanding of the world around us through discussing current political or historical problems, and of course - enjoy a few more hours with the ACS community. During the regular meetings, our members compare the world we live in nowadays to the world from the past, trying to differentiate diverse types of cultures through presentations, documents, videos, and events. During the first semester, Mila and I organized a visit to the National History Museum which appeared to be quite an interesting experience - museums are much more “exciting” when you visit them with friends. Currently, our members are working on a project, requiring them to prepare a presentation for the history of a certain food, an unpopular tradition, or an inspirational historical figure. Our impending meetings are going to focus on reviewing our members’ presentations and discussing them.

Our club aims to teach real forensic science techniques through hands-on experience. Often, forensic science can be the difference between a solved and an unsolved case. Therefore, we believe it is important for students to acquire the set of problem solving skills and knowledge needed not only in forensics but in day-to-day life as well. Every Friday, we meet to discuss the ins and outs of forensic science, such as the psychology behind murders, the mechanics of weapons and the procedure of solving a homicide, in relation to forensics. We are very hands-on with our approach. Every week we replicate real techniques used in forensic science in a controlled laboratory environment as well as solve fictional cases of varying difficulty to gain an idea of how one might go about solving a real case. Solving a murder is complicated stuff. So why not make it fun?

The Golf Club was created some years ago by an ACS student initiative under the guidance of Ms. Papazova. During regular meetings of the Golf Club, we play chipping outside (on the field by Sanders when the weather is suitable). When the conditions are not appropriate to play outside, we usually play putting in the Fitness Center and make creative presentations about golf and examine the different types of shots in greater detail. In spring time, the Golf Club visits the National Sports Academy and receives useful advice. When we are not at school in-person, we meet online. We watch movies and make presentations about golf. From September to November we trained outside - long shots, pitching, chipping and putting. In November we started meeting online, as the weather was not suitable for playing golf outside. We have been practicing golf terms, laws and vocabulary through numerous websites, quizzes and Kahoots. We watch videos on different techniques and we take notes. Currently, we are working on an essay about golf. From the middle of March onwards our practice will take place outdoors in-person again.

ACS’s GSA provides a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and work to end homophobia and transphobia.

ACS’s GSA is not a club only for LGBTQIA+ students, related to sexual promiscuity, anti-religious, exclusively political, or a place where you have to declare your sexual orientation or reason for participating.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that GSAs can greatly improve the school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning students and their allies. GSAs that conduct student and teacher sensitivity trainings typically see a decrease in slurs, name-calling, and harassment following their advocacy efforts. GSAs also create safe spaces for students to meet and socialize in a harassment-free environment.

GSAs Provide Support

Many GSAs function as a support group and provide safety and confidentiality to students who are struggling with their identity as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning or those who are experiencing harassment at school because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These groups often provide one of the few safe spaces for students to express themselves.

GSAs Build Community

GSAs are also social groups. They provide a sense of community and a space for LGBTQ and straight ally youth to build a social network where their identity is respected. Lots of GSAs organize barbeques or movie nights, organize field trips to a local LGBT prom or an LGBT pride parade, and attend conferences together. GSAs are a great way to build community at your school and lessen the isolation that LGBTQ students might otherwise experience.

GSAs Take Action to Create Change

In addition to support, some GSAs work on educating themselves and the broader school community about sexual orientation and gender identity issues. They may bring in outside speakers to cover a particular topic such as LGBTQ history. They may organize a "Pride Week" or "LGBTQ Awareness Events" and offer a series of educational workshops, panels, and pride celebrations. Some GSAs organize a "Teach the Teachers" staff development day, which focuses on teaching school staff how to be better allies for LGBTQ students. There are many other types of educational and activist events that GSAs can do.

ACS’s GSA has participated and helped organize ACS Art’s Fest, Coming Out Day, the Day of Silence, and Sofia Pride. We have invited many guest speakers and visited panels and events in the larger Sofia community. Sometimes we just eat pizza and watch movies. Anyone is welcome to join us at any time!

In Bulgarian, we often say "wish you health" before the holidays and even in cases of success or failure. Life and health always go hand in hand. This is why lately more and more people strive to strengthen this connection. Caring for one’s health has become a priority for both adults and young people. This is why we, a group of students at the American College of Sofia, found the Healthy Lifestyle club. Our goal is to demonstrate how to take care of our physical and mental well-being. We do not claim to be experts in this field but we truly believe that regular exercise, a balanced diet and a healthy mindset can be the cherry on everyone’s cake (although we will definitely convince you that the cherry is better than the cake☺). Lead a healthy lifestyle, dedicate to it, and enjoy!

Helping Hand Club is a place where students meet to serve the community by being a helping hand to those in need. Throughout the year the students can choose from among various initiatives and fundraisers to take part in. The initiatives may focus on one-on-one communication, assistance of elderly people and children, or volunteering in charity events. During fundraisers we typically collect food, money, books, games, etc., for day care centers for children with disabilities.

Helping Hand Club meets every Wednesday after school to discuss future initiatives or to organise fundraisers. During weekends the club members can choose to participate in initiatives based on their interests and availability. Our goal is that every student should be given the opportunity to help the community in the best possible way. Ultimately, the club members will learn the significance of doing good, improve their communication skills, and gradually become the leaders we need nowadays.

The Hiking Club has been around for the past five years; its mission - gathering people who enjoy spending time in nature and allowing them to do so in an ever-changing and growing environment. Ever since its establishment, it has brought both students from different grade levels and teachers from various backgrounds together to explore the natural beauty of the Bulgarian mountain regions.

It gathers once or twice a month (depending on the members’ schedule) for a hike and at least once for a planning meeting, during which the route chosen can be discussed, edited, and completed. During this planning meeting, students receive important information regarding safety as well as equipment needed for a successful hike. Although we usually hike in Vitosha, since it is in close proximity to Sofia and access via public transportation is easy, we are known to organize trips in Rila, Stara Planina, etc. We have previously arranged overnight hikes, supervised by ACS teachers, an opportunity for members of the club to explore more challenging hiking trails. This usually happens during long weekends or breaks. In the past, we have also conducted joint ventures with other clubs in ACS such as the Photography Club.  This year we plan to get in contact with the people who take care of the national parks or the Mountain Rescue Service of the Red Cross and help them with marking the mountain tracks or putting signs in regions that have been neglected. We contribute to the community by giving students a chance to meet new people who share a similar passion and spend more time in nature, thus promoting a healthier lifestyle in the indoor-oriented world we live in.

Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people. Made up of members ages 14-18 or secondary school age. The club gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects - various charities, donations, and fundraisers. Members of Interact Club organize food and clothing drives at ACS and volunteer at a dog shelter, a center for public health and analyses, a kitchen for people in need, and many more. In 2022, we organized a Christmas Donation Drive which achieved tremendous success. We participate in charity events organized by Rotary Vitosha and we organize ones by ourselves. During the Arts Fest at ACS, we sell our legendary Interact lemonade. Along the way, Interactors develop their leadership skills and initiative while meeting new friends. 

The Introduction to Law Club is for students interested in law, legal studies, jurisdiction, and jurisprudence who are also in need of Creativity and Service CAS!
We provide knowledge of the basic concepts of law while focusing on the different types of law -- from financial (corporate) through criminal justice, to environmental law; and establishing the main differences between the Anglo-American and European (International) law, as well as between English and American law, in particular. We prepare student-led presentations on various topics, such as: Is Law really my thing? Where to study? (we also do college/university research) What are some possible career paths? We watch videos, discuss real-life cases, and participate in mock trials, including the LACAH IV and LACAH V European Mock Trial Tournaments and the ACS Human Rights Mock Trial. We also attend and host meetings with established people in the field (legal representatives). Our club meetings are held on Thursdays during the Consultation Period, at Abbott 207.
Join the Intro to Law Club and get in touch with law internships, recommended reads, recent news in the sphere, and more!

President: Iva Ivanova '24
Vice-President: Ema Yordanova '24

The Italian Culture Club aims to create a sense of community for ACS students who are passionate about Italy and want to learn more about its culture. The club engages its members in unique and fun experiences that allow them to enhance their appreciation and knowledge of the Italian cultural heritage. 

Throughout the year we will be covering various aspects of Italian culture, language, and history, while also focusing on more contemporary aspects of the country. Some of the topics we have covered already include: Italian history, architecture, modern and ancient writers, musicians, cuisine, football, folk dances and fashion. We also like to engage our members with the Italian language, including its origin, development over time, as well as some easy and useful phrases. The Italian Culture Club also offers the possibility of visits at the Italian Culture Institute in Sofia, where we will attend various exhibitions or movie festivals.

The members also have the chance to participate in charity events in support of different shelters, orphanages, or homes for elderly people where we help those who cannot afford essential food products. For the last couple of years we have done charity events mainly around Christmas and Easter, in order to help the ones unable to enjoy these holidays and we plan to continue this tradition.

Keep Our Planet Alive’s main aims are to inspire and encourage students to become aware of their environmental impact and to aid our planet’s conservation by regularly cleaning different polluted areas. Our activities involve a new kind of recycling in which club members show the beauty of it by creating handmade ornaments from bottles, lids, paper, etc. We plan on visiting different schools and kindergartens where we can teach the younger generation about pollution, recycling, and how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. The organization was also introduced in Plovdiv, so we have two main locations, and thus, a greater impact.

The members of Keep Our Planet Alive have already done three clean-ups, one in Plovdiv and two in Sofia. We held a Christmas fundraiser in ACS, where wel presented our innovative and unique creations made from recycled materials. Our planet needs help and our team is determined to use our skills, passion, and enthusiasm to help her! 

Website: https://keepourplanetalive.mobirisesite.com/

There have been library helpers since 1998. At first there were only several volunteers to help with shelving and labeling books. During the years 2000-2007 the members numbered 30-40. During those years helpers were specialized. We had several helpers on duty during lunch breaks and after classes shelving books, making photocopies or cataloging books. In 2007-2008 we moved to IB compatible computers. We found another program which was more professional. During the next years the students moved from copying to printing homework. The number of helpers dwindled.

In more recent years the library was moved to Abbott 3rd floor during the reconstruction of the America for Bulgaria Campus Center. The club stopped its work. The second big school change was the gradual exchange of desk computers and LAN network to WiFi network and Chromebooks for teachers and students. It changed the library service system.

Since the 2018-2019 school year when the library moved to the new space on the second floor of the America for Bulgaria Campus Center the school adopted the paperless policy. As of June 2018 the Library Helpers club was resumed. The students helped with the shelving of the whole collection of about 16,000 books. This year the members of the club will help with book processing - labeling, stamping, taping donation labels of new books. The total number of titles donated by alumni and others is about 800. This will support the overall friendly and organized atmosphere in the library.

Our main goal is to provide ACS lyrics writing enthusiasts with a space where they can share pieces of their own writing and analyze lyrics by the best of the best in order to get better.

The two presidents met in grade 8, and soon they found out they shared the same love and passion for storytelling via songs. They had been sharing their songs, analyzing them together, and listened to other songs with great lyrics. And here we are now - establishing a club which will help us meet more people with the same interest and in which we will do what we love - write.

We have no doubt that ACS students are exceptionally creative, but this club focuses on a bit braver part of art - writing lyrics for songs. We challenge everyone who loves poetry or writing in general to come and test out their lyrics writing skills!

Some of the most essential skills all people should have are developed through the study of mathematics. Mathematics can teach people logic, problem solving, thoughtfulness, and persistence. The harder the mathematics questions solved, the better the development of these skills. Our club discusses the needs of its members in regards to the harder mathematical fields. This year, we mainly focused on preparation for the AP Calculus exam. Of course, we did not want to neglect competitional mathematics, so we dedicated several meetings to discussing different competition problems. All members managed to further their knowledge in mathematics and develop their presentation skills, as each of them had to give arguments why their solutions were correct.
“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty”
Bertrand Russell

The ACS Model United Nations club was established in 2005 following the now 100 year-old tradition of organised, student-lead conference simulations. A steadily growing community, it is currently composed of almost 20 members who share an interest in diplomacy, international relations and public speaking. 

The club introduces students to the basic structure and main bodies of the United Nations. During meetings senior members conduct delegate training where new participants are guided through the rules of procedure and jargon of a Model United Nations conference. Preparatory conferences are held for the purposes of learning and improving speaking, debate, negotiation, and resolution-writing skills which members later implement during actual conferences. Students represent different countries and try to find solutions to issues such as “Measures to prevent the proliferation and to lower production capabilities of weapons of mass destruction through an active international political agenda” and “Measures to protect human, economic, social and cultural rights of people who identify as LGBTQ+”

In recent years, the club has participated, both in person and online, in many international and domestic events such as the MIT Model United Nations, the American College of Greece MUN, the Coornhert MUN, and the Deutsche Schule Sofia MUN. Many ACS delegates are thus already decorated with awards for excellent performance. This year club members plan on organising the second edition of the ACS Model United Nations, our school’s very own conference. 

My MUN - https://mymun.com/

The Muzeiko Volunteering Club was established a few years ago at the American College of Sofia. Muzeiko is a children’s scientific center and interactive museum. It was founded in 2015, and volunteers have been serving there since 2016. The community of volunteers in Muzeiko is huge, but it is even more important that ACS has a big number of volunteers as well. So, this club brings together all enthusiastic students who are interested in Muzeiko, and it gives opportunities for sharing ideas, improving communication skills, which are crucial for being helpful in Muzeiko. When people from ACS have a shift together, they help each other. Of course, the role of each member is to support other volunteers and to be committed to their work. The shifts are during the weekends and some holidays. A volunteer can sign for a shift by themselves, but if they have any concerns, or ideas, they can always ask the presidents or the others for help. Our role as a club is to be a community, sharing ideas and supporting each other in this wonderful experience. When we have any instructions from Muzeiko, or we just want to discuss problems and ideas, we meet at school. We, the ACS Muzeiko Volunteering CLub, will keep helping Muzeiko in sharing its values and mission because we truly believe children need a safe place where they can explore and understand science easily.

New Hope Club’s mission is to promote Bulgarian history and nature, as well as to support people in need through charity campaigns. Our club aims to enrich members’ knowledge about Bulgaria and make students more socially responsible, thus giving New Hope to our society.

We want to make students feel more connected to their birthplace and in this way encourage them to become responsible young people, who can contribute to our society. Through familiarizing our members with Bulgaria’s historical and natural treasures our club will strive to make them admire and value their homeplace. By giving them a reason to love their country, we want to motivate them to be better people and take care of the arising problems.

So far, this year one of our biggest and most successful projects was “Who wants to be a millionaire” contest on Bulgarian history and culture. We aim to continue this event regularly and engage more participants, including teachers. Furthermore, our club organizes processions on the significant Bulgarian holidays. Everybody in the club has the chance to write his/her own speech and show their love for Bulgaria.

The mission of the Particle Physics club is to provide students with a better understanding of the fundamental principles and building blocks of the Universe. The club is designed to introduce students to this science field and to make them curious about the structure of the world as well as to discuss the biggest, most valuable, and influential science experiments.

Our usual meetings include presentations on different topics, for example, accelerators and particles, followed by discussions among students. Our main idea is to outline the impact and value of the experiments performed at CERN, Switzerland, the largest nuclear physics laboratory in the world, and other nuclear physics laboratories and their results. We talk about some historically impressive achievements in Physics, and also ongoing research and unanswered questions. We also learn more about the details in the construction of an accelerator and even try to make a simple model of it. The Particle physics club participates in CERN masterclasses, which gives the students a chance to further explore the learning and practice while being placed in a scientific setting. Then, they have the opportunity to discuss their work with scientists working at CERN.

For the current 2022-2023 school year the Particle Physics club has taken part in The World Wide Data Day (W2D2), where the students processed data of the ATLAS detector in CERN, and the Particle Therapy Masterclass, organized by CERN, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Sofia University, where learned about and did a consequence practice on treating cancer with different types of radiation or particle beams.

In addition, the club has plans to visit places related to particle physics and participate in international science competitions.

Everyone is welcome!

Class discussions are fun, but even the loudest speakers in the room sometimes get bored of talking about the causes of the French Revolution or the scary dystopias of Orwell’s writing. The bright visitors of the recording studio of the Podcast Club, convening each Monday down there in the hidden basement floor of Ostrander, on the other hand, never seem to get exhausted, nominally due to the excitement to join the club, more likely due to the cool topics we discuss.

As the Club is paving its way to the launch of the first ever ACS Podcast Channel, spirits are up, conversations are loud, and the ideas are overflowing. By learning from other popular podcasts, discussing what the ACS students would be the most thrilled to hear about, and having fun with the recording equipment, the club members are not only stimulated to share their wildest takes on any topic but also, without realizing, turned into strong speakers.

Founded in the second semester of 2018/19, the psychology club is a place to explore all kinds of topics from dreams and motivation to manipulation and biases. It’s about shining a light on important psychological aspects that make up everyday life in our society, social circle, and the way people act and react in general. The more perspectives we get, the better, which is why the club will often hold discussions in order to get a better idea of how to answer important questions about human behavior. It’s about gaining insight on the human condition through thorough analysis, developing emotional intelligence and encouraging empathy in the process. The goal is also to share and spread the knowledge outside the club in creative ways, either through articles, visuals, or in other ways, since raising awareness is an important step of the road to a better change in society. Occasionally, the club will strive to give a chance for people, in and out of the club, to meet and ask questions with professionals who can tell more about their experience in the field of psychology.

Anyone interested is welcome to participate.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are the official organizations and we are just a small strand of their 97 million volunteers. It was created in 1863 by the Swedish businessman and humanitarian Henry Dunant during the war of Solferino and since then its main purpose is to help people in all ways possible. Every volunteer of the organization should abide 7 principles, which are: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, universality;

            Red Cross, Bulgarian Youth is a voluntary club within the American College of Sofia’s territory. It is mainly focused on learning how to render first aid - physical and psychological. It also includes supporting different communities, raising awareness and organizing charity events. This year we have planned to do a lot of activities including giving presentations, discussing important themes, organizing events, collecting caps/clothes for donations, visiting orphanages and being of help to the ACS community as much as possible. Unfortunately, our activities are, and will continue to be, limited due to COVID-19 but we will still do them as long as we prioritize our health and this of our surroundings.

The objective of the ACS Science Club is to explore areas of science not covered by the curriculum, to give the club members various opportunities to do practical science. The Club will do its best to provoke its members to explore scientific phenomena and to raise public awareness about the way everything works in a fundamental level. Moreover, the Club will provide opportunities for its members to accumulate scientific experiences to further the boundaries of their knowledge.  In the process of planning and executing the activities which include but are not limited to peer tutoring, presentations, science challenges, and lectures we have the context and opportunity to gain scientific and logical thought as well as to develop our scope of organizational and leadership skills. The Science Club is by no means limited in terms of members, grade level, or number of projects.

The purpose of the club is to prepare the students for the national Olympiads in chemistry and physics with adequate knowledge that will get them all the way up to the third round of the Olympiads and even exceed that level. We strive to awaken further interest and give every member a wider perspective on the sciences. Many of the members of the science club have brought various medals and awards from physics and astronomy competitions in recent years. This year we plan to maintain this tendency by preparing students for both practical and theoretical Olympiads.

Several major activities are in the Science Club’s focus for this year:

• Student Lectures 

Every meeting will research and prepare a physics/chemistry lecture about a particular topic which will be examined in its fundamentals. They will present this lecture in front of the rest of the members. This type of service will enrich students’ scientific knowledge.

• Presentations and exhibitions visits
  If there are any presentations, lectures, exhibitions, etc. in/out of campus which are in Club’s interests, they will be attended.
• Preparation for competitions:
  The Science Club will try to continue to prepare its members and other students for various science competitions.
  
  
• Experimentation and solving practical problems:
  The Science Club’s members will organize and perform experiments, as well as solve creative practical problems. In the club, students are prepared for the International Young Physicist’s Tournament, which includes 17 experimental problems. More information is provided in the links below.
  
  
• Latest Science
  Science Club members will stay on top of the latest discoveries and news in science, as well as inform each other and the school society of the most interesting aspects.

The "Teach for Bulgaria" Club was established at the beginning of the 2022/23 academic year at the American College of Sofia. "Teach for Bulgaria" is a non-governmental organization that aims to improve education quality in Bulgaria. Established under the initiative of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, "Teach for Bulgaria" aims to provide children in Bulgaria with equal access to quality education which opens many doors for young students in their professional future. The organization aims to build partnerships and train new teachers, which will significantly improve the quality of Bulgaria’s education system. The club gets involved in many voluntary activities related to teaching or helping out with the organization of "Teach for Bulgaria" events. Members of the club helped the foundation with organizational tasks in the “A New Path in Teaching” events, and organized a Baba Marta Fundraiser for the 2022/23 academic school year. The club worked in collaboration with another ACS Clubs and the Student Council to raise money for school materials for the children from "106 Grigoriy Tsamblak'' Middle School. Students received the opportunity to even visit  "106 Grigoriy Tsamblak" Middle School and help out children to create martenitsi and spend some quality time with them. The club also organized a seminar at the ACS campus where people working with the organization paid a visit, so that they could tell more about what they do, why they do it and share details about their upcoming activities. People who attended the seminar were delighted to understand more about the organization and hear more about their voluntary work and projects.

The Fountain - a journal about literature and culture of the American College of Sofia, dates back to 1994 when students with great passion for writing alongside their teachers initiated its creation. Gradually, it became an official and regular issue until 2011 when it received an international ISSN number with which it was recognized as a periodical.

The journal publishes students’ works, photographs and illustrations, organizes a series of creative contests about prose, poetry and cover picture in order to give opportunities to the promising talents among the ACS community. Additionally, The Fountain teaches the students the pillars of working in a periodical – selection of texts from the contest submissions, editing, working on the layout and the design, interviewing, writing articles and reviews, advertising, event organization and last but not least - financing. One of the most important missions of our journal is to develop a literary taste and a skill for recognizing valuable pieces of art in the field of culture while unifying classic and modernity.

The club was created in 2018 and represents Timeheroes - the biggest charity and volunteering platform in Bulgaria. It aims to provide students with the opportunity to do good. The participants will learn to help out those who lack financial, physical or moral support. 

Since its foundation, the club has accomplished a number of successful initiatives: several visits to the Home for Children Deprived of Parental Care Radost in the village of Dren, donations and activities aiming to involve those kids and young people in social communication, participation in a soup kitchen, audiobook recordings for deaf people, fundraising in many ways to support children with Onco-Hematological diseases, disabled, and shelters for stray dogs, etc. Furthermore, the club has taken part in the organization and dissemination process of a charity ball hosted by the Second German Language school. 

The next goal of the club is to broaden the mission and create initiatives related to improving the local environment and further involving the ACS community in seasonal charity events with the purpose of helping people in need. These are just some of the numerous activities we are going to be involved in.

"Touch My Heart" is a club that is dedicated to helping children in need who have no parental support. We understand the vulnerability of these children and are making a continual effort to improve their lives and provide them with essential resources. In order to achieve this, we have partnered with SOS Children's Villages, an organization that is devoted to improving the lives of vulnerable children by providing much-needed resources, such as food, housing, healthcare, education, and job training. To help financially support this cause, our members are actively involved in fundraising, advocating, and donating money. We also strive to raise awareness and lift people’s spirits by organizing events with people who can help us raise more funds, producing handmade artwork for sale, and educating ourselves about love and charity. By joining forces and working with individuals to support this noble cause, we truly believe that we can make a positive difference and provide these young people with the security, hope, and happiness they deserve. We are committed to providing these precious children with a life filled with opportunity and safety. Through our different initiatives, we can create an environment of hope and security for them, gifting them a chance for a brighter future. Our members work tirelessly to raise both money and awareness, aiming to enhance their lives and the lives of those around them. We don’t see our work as just a job, but as a form of love, a gesture of compassion and empathy, one that will ensure that these children are provided with a successful and secure future. Together, we will be able to touch the hearts of these valuable children, bringing them joy and hope.

We are the Video Production Club, which has the goal of making studying easier. We want to achieve it by producing educational videos, which aim to make the content more understandable, and easier to remember. Both teachers and students as members of the ACS community can request the creation of an educational video, suitable to their needs. 

Students develop: 

• collaboration skills
• creativity
• serve the community’s authentic needs
• practice their English and Bulgarian languages
• Develop video editing skills 

We create videos from start to end to make learning fun.

The ACS Girls Volleyball Club was established in 1994. The club has a very rich history, full of events, competitions, tournaments of different rank, in Sofia, Samokov, Ankara-Turkey, and Thessaloniki-Greece. Until 2010, the volleyball club had year-round training and participated in 5 competitions: Hector Cup at National Math H.School, Claris Cup of the eight elite language schools in Sofia, Student Games in Mladost Municipality and Sofia - in two age groups 8-10 and 11-12 grades, ACS Open - our College Tournament - organized among up to eight schools, Bilkent High School & University International Tournament in Ankara, and Anatolia College International Tournament in Thessaloniki. 

After 2010 we have been playing sports by seasons in the college, and we prepare two teams for two competitions - the Student Games of Mladost Municipality and the ACS Open. Volleyball season starts on 23 September and ends on December 6. The practices are every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday after school from 3:45 to 5:30 in the Gym. The teams consist of 25 girls from 8th to 12th grade level.

One of the most successful sports club in the last four years, this team is the only one in the history of the college who won 4 years consecutively ACS open and every other competitions where they took part. The purpose of the ACS volleyball club is to offer young volleyball enthusiasts an opportunity to learn and participate in competitions beyond the school related activities. Club volleyball offers players the chance to receive instructions in skills development and team strategy, as well as to participate in an environment learning teamwork and sportsmanship. Each club season is roughly equal to 3 months. Each September tryouts are held and invitations extended to ACS students. The teams of ACS take a part of different rank competitions and each season ends with ACS open which is the tournament of the college.

The Yearbook club has been active since 1997. In truth it was created in 1926 when the first yearbook was published. During the years after the reopening of the college it has been an elective, a club, both, or a CAS activity. Usually there are several very active students but most of the rest prefer to be engaged only with a shorter job - taking photos or creating pages only of one section or two at the most.  

Our club creates a final product which must be printed and delivered to the college by Graduation so seniors can buy it. There are different activities and therefore different strands. The photographers take photos of the sections, clubs, sports teams, games and special events. The Photoshop layout specialist must have a vision of how to create a page as well as necessary skills and patience. Finally, there are the editors who become active during the second semester. They check the pages for mistakes.