As Emily Chong and the rest of the board members prepare themselves to log onto the first Student Council meeting of the school year, they cross their fingers, hoping that COVID-19 is incapable of further ruining their plans for the club. 

“I think the hardest part about doing these clubs over Zoom rather than in person is the ability to fully fulfill the club’s goal. One of the Student Council’s goals is to engage students and make sure everyone is included within school activities,” Chong said. “We plan Homecoming, Prom, volleyball events, etc., but with everything online, we are not able to plan any of those. Therefore, we have to improvise and come up with new ideas that still go along with COVID guidelines.”

Since the pandemic started, not only has it taken students’ ability to attend in-person school but also to start up after school clubs in-person as well. This has been a challenging adjustment for many. With Zoom being the only other option, students had to get creative and make it work. 

One of the many components in making online clubs successful is communication. 

“I think communication is [harder] because not everyone checks their emails or Haiku pages. We always update people on events and everything through meetings, Haiku announcements, school announcements, etc.,” Chong said. “When we were in person, people were able to get information on Student Council through the school’s daily announcements, but now it comes from emails and not everyone checks their emails.”

Along with communication, staying on the same page for plans and goals is important for the club’s success as well. 

“It has been quite easy to keep everyone on track because we meet twice a week on Zoom to make sure everyone is updated. We also have group chats and emails between all of the advisors, executive board members, and general council,” Chong said. “We make sure everyone understands the week’s plan and how everything will be executed. STUCO also has an Instagram page where everyone can keep track of plans.”

As of now, students are not entirely sure of whether or not they want to try hybrid or stay remote. However, for the majority that are choosing to stay at home, communication will still be a skill that will continue to be improved. The board members of the Student Council are trying their best to effectively communicate with each other and bring as much success to their club just as they would if they were physically together. 

As difficult as it is running after-school clubs online, the Student Council is doing everything they can to make sure that their plans this year end in success and that they will accomplish their goals of doing good things for the community and the school itself. 

To support their acts, we can spread the word about the club, and stay up to date with what they have in store for the school year. We can show our support to the continuous efforts of the Student Council by following their Instagram page, @huntley_stuco.