Clubs find their rhythm again
Chorus takes a group photo during their retreat held at school on Oct. 15.
Clubs are an essential part of any school. Despite being online the previous school year, clubs still found creative ways to meet and interact such as Microsoft Teams or a Zoom call. Now with a full return to face to face instruction comes in-person club meetings and activities and students have jumped to explore their options.
Many clubs participate in activities such as field trips, beach clean-ups and fundraisers, and being virtual put a stop to most of these activities. A prime example is DECA, a business and marketing club. After a year of online competitions, the club is already planning travel.
“DECA has picked up where it left off before the pandemic. We have field trips to Boston, Miami, Orlando and Atlanta coming up, which is very exciting,” advisor Federico Baldo said. “The field trips are a big part of what makes the DECA experiences so valuable to students. I’m looking forward to the rest of this year and grateful for things to be returning to normalcy.”
Some clubs such as Debbie’s Dream club sponsored by English teacher Joan LeRoy had few changes when they went all digital. This club is about raising awareness about stomach cancer, advancing funding for research, also providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers.
“Last year was different in that we could not meet so we did everything virtual, we did not do any fundraising which was also very different,” LeRoy said. “Funny enough our numbers did not change much; we had just as many members as we do now.”
Then there were some clubs that struggled with accomplishing their goals during the online year and are finally now returning back to full capacity. Fostering feet is a club that was created to donate shoes to organizations who will distribute them to those in need. As of this year the club is getting back on their feet by starting to collect new and used shoes.
“It was difficult to say the least, holding club meetings online. We got very few participants and it was very distracting. I’m glad we are back in person and can return to regular club activities,” sophomore Hunter Ring said.
The Robotics and Solar Car clubs were affected differently than most. took advantage of being online and learned the functions of Microsoft Teams and Zoom. They had the ability to host meetings anytime or place and they mentored students from far away.
“The pandemic has made it harder for us to transfer out knowledge down to the next generation. But now we are able to but so many students missed that hands-on experiences last year,” sponsor Michael Walker said.
A prime example of a club that had positive change would be the sophomore class council. This club’s objective is to raise money through fundraisers so that when the class of 2024 reaches their senior year they are able to have events such as prom and grad bash and much more.
“Our last meeting my classroom was standing room only whereas in the past there had only been 10 participants tops then all of a sudden there were about 50 participants in the next meeting,” sponsor Wyndi Fasciana said. “Everybody is so happy to be back. I see less altercation, less disagreement, and more happy to be here attitude.”
