Student Life & Community

At Stanford Online High School, we offer a variety of ways for our students to come together with their peers and their instructors to build lasting relationships outside the online classrooms.

Engagement Outside the Classroom

At Stanford Online High School, opportunities to join our global community together are endless! There are many ways for students and families to connect online and in person. Learn more about our Student Life opportunities including Clubs & Circles, Student Government, In-Person and Online Events, Regional Meetups, Summer@Stanford, and Student Travel opportunities.

Student Clubs & Circles

Join the Club!

Stanford OHS offers numerous clubs and circles that appeal to a variety of different interests. New student clubs are formed each year at Stanford OHS. All clubs have a student leader and an instructor or staff sponsor. Students have the opportunity to propose new clubs.

Stanford OHS offers a rich array of instructor-supervised student extracurricular activities and a variety of clubs focused on diverse, cultural, and academic interests.

Robotics Club

The main purpose of this club is to encourage and foster an interest in STEM and develop skills in engineering, programming, and leadership.

Girls Can Code

Club members learn how to use Python to program AI, do data visualization and will collaborate in teams to build their own AIs to play Halite.

Baseball Club

This sporting club organizes online meetings for students to talk about baseball skills. Participants also organize an in-person baseball game for Graduation weekend.

Running Club

The goal of the Running Club is to create a supportive and encouraging group of runners, who will share advice and provide each other with motivation.

List of Clubs (Changes Annually):

Advanced Programming Club
Art Club
Asian and Pacific American Student Union (APASU) Club
Astronomy Club
Black Student Union and Allies
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Chess Club
Climate Action Club
Comedy Club
Community Engagement Club
Competition Physics Club
Computational Thinking Club
Consciousness & Cognition Club
Culture, History, and Civics (CHC)
Data Science Club
Debate Club
Equestrian Club
ERA Coalition
Ethics Bowl
Explore-A-Vision
French Club
Future Authors Club
Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA)
Generation She Club
Girls Can Code Club
Girl Up Club
Global Teens Club
Handmade Business Club
History Club
How to Start a Business Club
Jazz Band
Korean Club
Latin Club
Leadership and Activism Club
Literature Club
Math Competition Club
Math Modeling Club
Math Research Club
Mental Health Awareness Club
Middle School Math Competition Club
Model United Nations
Music Production Club
Neuroscience Club
OHS Observer
OHS Salon
OHS Startup Incubator
Philosophy Club
Photography Club
Pixel Journal
Pixelstra (Pixel Orchestra)
Pre-Med Club
Psychology (& Philosophy) Club
Quiz Bowl
Robotics Club
Rubik's Cube Club
Science Club
Screenwriting Club
STEAMS Club
Theoretical Physics Club
UNHCR Club
UNICEF Club
Women in STEM+
Yearbook Club

Student Government

Voice of the Student Body

The Stanford OHS Student Government plays an instrumental role in the school community. In addition to hosting assemblies and social events, Student Government contributes to discussions with the administration on policy, school projects, and issues relevant to the student body as a whole.

School-Wide Representation

In addition to the Student Body President, Vice President, and Secretary, who serve in a leadership capacity, OHS Student Government comprises two representatives from each high-school grade and two representatives from the Stanford OHS Middle School Program. These officials are elected by classmates at the beginning of each academic year.

The Student Government also includes heads of the following standing committees: Internal Review Board, Board of the Arts, Board of Club Relations, Board of Events, Board of Communications and Outreach.

Open Meetings

Meetings are held weekly and are open to all students, upholding the mission embodied in the Stanford OHS Student Government Constitution.

Meetings include:

planning upcoming events for students to engage with their peers,
discussing pertinent student issues
creating proposals to discuss with the school administration

Social Projects & Events

Throughout the year, the Student Government creates the following opportunities for community engagement, entertainment, and fun:

Karaoke Night
Movie Night
Trivia Night
Homecoming
Pixel Parcels Holiday Gift Exchange
eRoses for Valentine’s Day
Prom Committee

Online Events

Assemblies and Happenings

All-school assemblies and other online events bring the Stanford OHS community together for celebrations and special opportunities.

Student presenting during government assembly.

Online

Assemblies

These annual school-wide events—including the Club Fair, Halloween Assembly, Service Fair, and Spirit Week Assembly—celebrate our community and showcase student activities.

Online

Homeroom

Once a week, students come together in small groups with their homeroom instructors. During these half-hour meetings, they cover important school announcements, share study tips and strategies, discuss current events, and get to know each other through informal conversations.

Online

Science Colloquium

Students present their scholarly work in our three-part Science Colloquium. Students are able to present their current experiment or research the greater community while fostering the Stanford OHS spirit of intellectual inquiry.

Annual In-Person Events

School-Sponsored Events

These annual in-person events include our Splash/Homecoming Weekend, Pixel Festival, and Pixel Gathering and Graduation Weekend.

In-Person

Splash & Homecoming

Typically organized around MIT Splash, a weekend event for prospective MIT applicants, this meetup brings more than 100 families together in Boston for a range of activities, such as museum-going, flag football, the homecoming dance, and more.

In-Person

Pixel Festival

Pixel Festival is a full-day event on the Stanford University campus. It’s a chance for students to showcase their work, go on instructor-led adventures or participate in learning hobbies, and dance the night away at the OHS Winter Formal. The event includes keynote speakers, sessions for parents to meet each other, the school administration and instructors.

In-Person

Pixel Gathering and Graduation Weekend

This weekend-long gathering is a prime occasion for our extended school family to journey to Stanford University's campus and celebrate our students’ achievements.

Regional Meetups

Meetups Are Events Hosted by Stanford OHS Families

Stanford OHS families host in-person events for students to gather together and further the bonds they have made in classes online. Students at any enrollment level are invited to attend local meetups and join in on the fun!

In-Person

What Makes a Meetup?

Meetups come in all shapes and sizes, from backyard barbecues and viewing parties for sporting events, to community service projects and destination-city excursions.

Past meetups have taken the form of a pool party and a game day in southern California, a weekend outdoors in Washington State’s San Juan Islands, a spring celebration in Boston, a visit to Elsinore Castle in Denmark, and a friendly gathering in Katsuura, Japan, and more!

Group of student at a Meetup in New York state.

In-Person

Start Up!—Our First Meetup of the Year

Our Start Up! event kicks off the new school year by gathering Stanford OHS families in clusters around the globe on the same day, at the same time. In our largest Start Up! event to date, more than 400 people gathered across 15 locations worldwide, from California to New York and all the way to Dubai.

Summer@Stanford

Move Beyond Online

For two weeks in August, returning and incoming Stanford OHS students gather at Stanford University for our optional residential summer program, giving students a chance to connect in person while engaging in a hands-on and enriching academic program.

Challenging and Enriching Academic Program

Summer@Stanford offers students experiences that cannot be offered online during the school year. Hands-on, experiential learning is an important aspect of this program; we provide science laboratory courses, interdisciplinary studies, field trips, and leadership activities that foster an exemplary learning environment.

Exploring the Bay Area

As an on-campus residential program, Summer@Stanford allows students to take advantage of the University’s rich resources. Students may visit the Cantor Arts Center, explore Stanford libraries, or hear from Stanford professors. They also get opportunities to explore the San Francisco Bay Area. Past field trips have included the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Exploratorium, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Great Way to Get Oriented

For new Stanford OHS students, Summer@Stanford is a great way to get oriented to the community. Incoming students participate in orientation sessions that introduce them to the virtual classroom environment; to the Stanford OHS program, curriculum, and policies; to administrative and instructional staff; and to one another. With their prospective instructors, students discuss strategies for approaching coursework in various subjects. They meet with counselors to discuss their academic plans and courses of study.

Student Travel

Educational Journey

Opportunities for travel allow Stanford OHS students to get to know one another in person while experiencing a new place or culture. See examples of school trips organized for students from recent years:

Student Travel

Galápagos Islands

On this trip led by Stanford OHS science instructors, students worked with park rangers to practice scientific research in aid of local conservation organizations. They also got a chance to engage Galapagueños and learn about life on the Islands.

Student pose on Top of The Rock in New York City.

Student Travel

Human Rights Advocacy

On this trip, students traveled to Boston and New York City to participate in a variety of seminars and forums on Indigenous issues. Students conducted interviews with indigenous politicians to collect materials and compose a newspaper article.

Student Travel

Astronomy Trip

Students traveled from the SETI Allen Array in Northern California to the SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles, visiting observatories at Sacramento City College, Robert Ferguson, Lick, Mt. Wilson, and Griffith along the way.