Due to the coronavirus, many of Schreiber’s clubs have been forced to stop running in-person meetings in the high school building, and many activities are cancelled as a result of COVID-19 safety guidelines.  However, some clubs have met virtually.  Whether over a Zoom call or Google Meet, club advisers and students who have board positions are doing everything in their power to try to continue their extracurriculars.  Some clubs meeting virtually include The Schreiber Times, Schreiber Student Advocacy Club,  Full supPORT Club, and Student Council.  

“The number of people attending clubs has greatly changed due to clubs being all online.  For clubs that are holding Google Meets in the morning, it is tough for people to join the Meet as they get ready for school.  This makes clubs that are meeting in the morning have fewer people attending.  Afternoons are a great time for clubs to meet, especially with people’s after school activities being canceled,” said junior Jolie Baltic, the treasurer of the Full SupPORT Club and a Student Council member. 

 Virtual meetings make it difficult to recreate a club’s usual atmospheres, and social distancing interferes with many clubs’ social aspects and fun activities.  Board members of various clubs are trying to juggle online school and online clubs.

The new meeting formats make it hard for new members, especially freshmen, to imagine and relate to previous club members’ experiences.  Also, many are worried about not having extracurriculars on their resume. 

“How am I supposed to build volunteer hours on my resume if there are no activities for me to volunteer at?  I don’t know how most of the clubs normally run. I had planned to become a member of clubs that I would find interesting at the typical club fair, but clearly, that did not happen this year. It is hard to find clubs that connect with my interests on a Zoom call or on the Instagram page for the club,” said freshman Grace Carolan.

However, many clubs have actually grown in membership since athletes’ schedules have opened up.  In addition, some clubs are creating new environments that are better than they were originally.  Staring at a screen for eight hours a day is a challenge for anyone, but students are doing their best to achieve a new normal. 

“We are working out a way to have practice trials and have fun. We are trying to continue this club while still being safe and distanced,” said junior Maya Lapter, president of Mock Trial.   

Clubs that focus more on individual volunteering events, like Letter Club, have only received approval to start meetings within the week of Unity Day.  It is not clear when they can start planning events as they previously held sports tournaments that were planned over the course of several months.  However, these events can’t take place since people cannot touch the same equipment or exceed the maximum capacity of the gym.

 Connecting to the “issue clubs are facing because of the coronavirus are many activities that we would normally be running being canceled.  For example, the school would’ve already had a pep rally and be planning for the blood drive,” said Baltic.  

Full SupPORT club meets every other Tuesday after school at 4:00 p.m. via Google Meet.  Letter Club is one of the clubs that has most recently restarted meetings under Ms. Christina Carey’s supervision every other Friday at 7:30 a.m.  The Schreiber Student Advocacy Club is meeting once a month on Thursdays via Google Meet.  Information on these clubs and many others can be found on their media platforms.  In addition, Schreiber SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, is holding meetings Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m.  

In the coming weeks, Student Council will be holding a virtual club fair in which  clubs will be creating videos to recruit new members.