In policy debate, teams of two debate about government policies centered around one topic throughout the year. During enrichment we have lectures, drills, practice debates, and debate games! It is a year-round activity, we typically send teams to one tournament a month. We send teams to both local and national tournaments, and teams have qualified to the Tournament of Champions (TOC), the most prestigious national tournament in the country. Teams have been ranked as high as #4 in the country this year! We have been state finalists twice, and won the state champion title in 2023. If you are interested in gaining public speaking and research skills, come to debate!

When: Monday Enrichments 316, Thursday Enrichments 122, Wednesday Seminar 1

Join: Show up! (Level 4)

President:  Kavin Bendre - kabendre@cps.edu 

Leaders: Annika Sengupta - asengupta@cps.edu, Kevser Basic -  kbasic1@cps.edu, Maximilian Dan - mpdan@cps.edu, Anna Buckley - abuckley2@cps.edu 

Sponsor: Mr. Lezcano

Achievements: State Finalists IHSA States 2022. Won IHSA States 2023. State Quarterfinalist 2025. Numerous national tournament victories and high placements/recognition. #4 in the country at the start of 2025. Have consistently bid to the most prestigious national tournament, the Tournament of Champions (TOC).

Social Media: Instagram - @paytondebate

In Future Problem Solvers, we participate in a variety of challenges designed to empower us to become changemakers and critical thinkers. We compete in team competitions on the regional, state, and international level throughout the year. We work with our teammates and friends to develop ideas and become future innovators!

When: Thursday Enrichments 208

Join: Show up! (Level 3- No application process, BUT after competitions start we are unable to add people)

Leaders: Ahana Gholkar - agholkar@cps.edu, Marlina Wu - mxwu1@cps.edu, Iris Li - izli@cps.edu, Kelly Eng - keng@cps.edu

Sponsor: Mr. David Shack and Mrs. Erika Stevens

Achievements: Every team makes it to state regularly, and Payton always sends at least one team to internationals.

SHF members meet regularly to promote continuity of interest in French studies, by competing in the National French Contest, organizing French language events and field trips, and fundraising and/or providing services to Francophone and/or local communities.

When: Thursday Enrichments 136

Join: Application Process (Level 3)

President: Peter Hornstra - phhornstra@cps.edu 

Leaders: Camille Kejo - ckejo@cps.edu, Hector Rodriguez - hrodriguez47@cps.edu, Claire Anderson - canderson49@cps.edu, Rayya Babar - rbabar@cps.edu, Elizabeth Galioto - egalioto@cps.edu, Shanna Homawoo - sehomawoo@cps.edu 

Sponsor: Mme. Marnice Lewis

Social Media: Instagram - @paytonshf

WPCPMUN is Walter Payton's Model UN team! In addition to hosting two conferences per school year, MUNAP and PawMUN, we attend 10+ conferences with delegations of over 20 students. We have 60+ current members and host weekly enrichments for all delegates. Model UN is dedicated to teaching students about current evens and international relations while fostering skills like public speaking, effective collaboration, and professional debate. All are welcome!

When:  Tuesday Enrichment 306

Join:  Show up! (Level 3)

Leaders: Alexa Gola (aigola@cps.edu) - Leah Galibois (lagalibois@cps.edu) - Judah Cooper (jcooper60@cps.edu)

Sponsor: Mr. Eric May, Mr. Aaron Weiss

Achievements:  Hosting our high school conference, MUNAP, for 20+ years, founding our elementary school conference, PawMUN, training delegates to win all levels of awards

Social Media: Instagram - @wpcpmun

In NeuroMed Society, students will get a chance to hear lectures from guest speakers, including university professors and professionals, about all kinds of different medical topics, as well as participate in numerous activities, workshops, and shadowing opportunities. The club is open to all students, with no previous experience needed, and is partnered with Northwestern University's Brain Awareness Outreach to offer the best experience possible.  

When:  Every other Friday Enrichments 320

Join:  Show up! (Level 1)

Leaders: Kevser Basic - kbasic1@cps.edu, Kaavya Sumit - ksumit@cps.edu 

Sponsor: Ms. Mirelle Rivera

The Physics Team dedicates their time towards solving tough physics problems in mechanics, including in kinematics, statics, Newton’s laws, momentum and energy, oscillations, orbital mechanics, fluids, and elementary data analysis, preparing for the annual F=ma competition and Physics Bowl, both sponsored by AAPT. All members of differing experience collaborate during practice sessions to become better thinkers and problem-solvers!

When:  Every Friday Enrichments 204

Join:  Show up! (Level 4)

Leaders: Isabella Sun - isun@cps.edu

Sponsor: Mr. Priyank Srivastava

The RoboGrizzlies are Payton’s award-winning FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team. Each season, we design, build, and program a robot to tackle a brand-new engineering challenge. Along the way, members learn coding, CAD, mechanical design, outreach, and teamwork—all while competing at local and state competitions. Whether you’re interested in engineering, programming, or just want to try something new, robotics has a place for you.

We host tryouts in the beginning of every year. Make sure to sign up for BoY info sessions! Please do not join enrichments - they are team-only.

When: Monday & Friday Enrichment 132, after school, Seminar 2

Join: Application (Level 4)

Leader: Cynthia Chen - crchen@cps.edu - Bu Long - blong6@cps.edu - Sameer Pai - spai1@cps.edu

Sponsor: Mr. Matthew Olson

Achievements:

3x State Qualifier

24-25 1st Place Think Award @ Chicago League Tournament

23-24 Think Award @ Chicago League Tournament

23-24 Finalist Alliance @ Chicago League Tournament

23-24 1st Place Promote Award @ Illinois State Championship

22-23 Think Award @ Chicago League Tournament

22-23 Finalist Alliance @ Chicago League Tournament

22-23 3rd Place Promote Award @ Illinois State Championship

21-22 Motivate Award @ Chicago League Tournament

20-21 Collins Aerospace Innovate Award @ Chicago League Tournament

20-21 Ultimate Goal Woodie Flowers Award @ Chicago League Tournament

19-20 3rd Place Think Award Winner @ Chicago League Tournament

18-19 Judge’s Award Winner @ Chicago League Tournament

17-18 Rookie Team Award Winner @ Chicago League Tournament

Social Media:

Insta: wpcp.robotics

X: RoboGrizzlies

Youtube: Robogrizzlies

Scholastic Bowl is an interscholastic IHSA Activity where teams work collaborate to compete against other schools by answering questions on academic subjects like literature, history, science, fine arts, social sciences, and math. During enrichment we prepare for competitions by playing practice questions, learning new information, and developing gameplay skills. We compete at a large number of full-day tournaments on Saturdays throughout the school year.

When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday Enrichment 224 - Optional, After school Wed. Fri. Seminar Days

Join: Show up! (Level 3)

Leaders: Kieran Blake - kblake4@cps.edu, Connolly Nugent - cjnugent1@cps.edu, Elena Whitford - ejwhitford@cps.edu , Hector Rodriguez - hrodriguez47@cps.edu 

Sponsor: Mr. Mark Taylor

Achievements: We are currently back-to-back reigning IHSA Regionals Champions, are reigning IHSA Sectionals Champions, went to IHSA State last year, are reigning Varsity and Junior Varsity Metro North Conference League Champions, placed first this year at the first-ever Hinsdale Varsity Academic Competition, and placed first at this year's IHSSBCA David Riley Memorial Kickoff by defeating the reigning national champions.

Social Media: Instagram - @wpcpscholasticbowl

Writing Workshop is a student-run club that aims to help Payton students foster and grow their writing skills. We provide writing tutoring for everything from class assignments to personal creative writing projects. We also provide resources to facilitate students' entrance into various creative writing writing programs, including matching students to programs right for them and helping with their applications. Our goal is to help students connect with writing as an art instead of just classwork. Writing Workshop meets every other Friday enrichment, and we bring snacks for google classroom members!

When: Friday Enrichments 

Join: Show up (Level 2)

Leader: Ava Carlson - aecarlson2@cps.edu, Charlotte Walters - cmwalters1@cps.edu, Noam Cohen -  nscohen@cps.edu, Olivia Groh -  ogroh@cps.edu, Chloe Kahlil ckhalil@cps.edu 

Sponsor: Dr. Allison Gillick

Achievements: We've accumulated over 250 hours of tutoring and other service work so far! We've also successfully expanded to tutoring elementary and middle schoolers online, and have our own website: https://writing-workshop.com/