Clubs work to transition back to in-person gatherings

Clubs and after-school activities are one of the many ways students are able to form a bond with each other and develop school spirit.
In the aftermath of virtual learning, clubs have started scheduling in-person meetings again, with mixed results.

“This year, I would say it is pretty similar to our past years,” clubs and activities director Laura Campbell said. “Last year you couldn’t meet in person, but I do think this year we have a lot more participation.”

Multiple clubs were introduced during distance learning to try and engage students to interact with each other. The Foreign Affairs Club was one such club which struggled during the shift back in person.

“I think the start of this year was just really hectic and chaotic and new for everybody,” Foreign Affairs Club sponsor and English teacher Tim Ghazzawi said. “We just haven’t had a time to meet and solidify what this club could be.”

Ghazzawi noticed that due to COVID-19, other clubs also had a hard time transitioning back in person.

“There was just low participation across the board last year,” Ghazzawi said. “So a lot of clubs just lost their momentum. Then this year, it feels really busy all the time. All students are a little bit overwhelmed and just trying to get caught up with regular school stuff, let alone all the extracurricular activities they have going on.”

Ghazzawi also said participating in extracurriculars was harder for seniors due to new things they have to focus on.

The Red Cross Club, in the process of their own virtual-to-in person transition, is sponsored by history teacher Tyler Bagi. Bagi said scheduling conflicts make club planning difficult, but students’ unified interests mean the club isn’t over for good.

“We sent out some Google Forms as to what people were interested in, and a lot of the responses were things like humanitarian law and letter writing for different human rights campaigns and things like that,” Bagi said. “So we’ve seen a lot of interest in some really key areas that the Red Cross focuses on.”

Despite the rocky transition back in person, Bagi said his hope for clubs’ futures have not yet dwindled.

“I’m not entirely sure what the club community was like prior to online learning, but compared to online learning, it is definitely looking better,” Bagi said.

As in-person club meetings start to return, sponsors said they are expecting to get clubs started again.