With the school system being split up between virtual and in-person students, some clubs are having a difficult time figuring out how to hold meetings.
“In the past, with a single lunch period, most clubs were able to meet during lunch,” activities director Ernie Modugno said. “With multiple lunch periods, that becomes very problematic.”
Having three lunch periods this year due to COVID-19 has caused a problem for several clubs. However, some have a temporary solution in place.
“As of now, our club is going to work as it always has, with some differences,” Best Buddies club director Jennifer Szczepkowski said. “We will have the Best Buddies scheduled to meet throughout all three lunch periods.”
Clubs that are mostly student run, like Best Buddies, won’t have too many problems with the different lunches. Some clubs that aren’t as student reliant, such as Mu Alpha Theta, have other viable solutions like sending their participants the resources through technology.
“I am able to email all the resources and tests to virtual students and I will have [a] Webex on during the meetings in the classroom,” Mu Alpha Theta club director Cecilie Masewicz said.
This is a path that most clubs can take if they can’t hold a meeting during all lunch periods. School lunches aren’t the only problem, as there are other complicated factors too.
“One major obstacle is a lot of our students are virtual students,” Modugno said.
With the 40:60 ratio of virtual and in-person students, clubs are going to have to function differently until all online students come back in January. For the time being, school clubs have come up with temporary solutions to include virtual students.
“Clubs can [do a] Webex during club planning meetings and matched Best Buddies meetings,” Szczepkowski said.
Holding Webex meetings during lunch periods can help involve those who are currently learning at home. However, there are other possible solutions that some clubs can take.
“Because we cannot meet after lunch, we have to meet after school,” Masewicz said. “This works out for the students in school and virtual students to attend.”
Meeting after school would allow virtual students to get hands-on material and be surrounded by their peers.
Until the second semester roles around, most clubs are going to have to operate very differently from past years.
“For the time being at least, it seems most clubs are going to have to try and function virtually,” Modugno said.
