Introduction

Take a look around the school hallways. Have you noticed the various posters on the walls, promoting clubs and other school activities? Maybe you have joined some of them in the past weeks. Since the pandemic restrictions were lifted, Victoria Park has seen the gradual return of clubs, including ones that did not exist previously. Among these emerging clubs, led by the student body, include Cubing Club, DITSY, and VP Lit.

Management

These school clubs all have similar beginnings, but the management method can vary. Cubing Club has weekly drop-in sessions while VP Literature hosts biweekly meetings. On the other hand, DITSY is focused on teaching members about healthcare through structured workshops and case studies that require you to sign up to participate.

Vision

Since these clubs focus on unique interests and cater towards a specific audience, they usually have fewer attendees. Despite this, they are still essential for the school community. When asked about DITSY, Haodong said that his vision for DITSY was to “focus on medicine”, because other medical clubs were geared towards medical competitions. Quinn, the founder of Cubing Club, explained that she got into speedcubing over the summer and started the club to find people with the same interests. VP Literature and Dance, both initiatives co-founded by Brooke, began as passion projects with her friends to cultivate a safe space to perform and share individual works.

Club creation process

After coming up with a purpose for their clubs, the next thing to do was to find a teacher supervisor. Recently, SLC has introduced a new step for anyone looking to create their own club. Once you have found a teacher willing to help out with club proceedings, you must write a proposal that must be approved by the teacher supervisor, as well as the office administration and SLC. This helps to avoid any overlap between club activities and creates an organized channel of communication with club executives and school administrators.

Obstacles

Of course, newly formed clubs like DITSY and Cubing Club have many mountains to climb. The foundation for their club has been laid out, but keeping their clubs afloat and being consistent with management may prove to be a challenge as it did with many before them. Brooke, who’s been successfully running VP Dance and Literature for a year now, stated, “The hardest part is just not having as much guidance. We didn’t really know how to start, so it was hard to sort of guide each other”.

Recent Successes

At the same time, the successes have been plentiful. Quinn said that she was surprised by the amount of participation for her first meeting. Brooke has built a close-knit community with the Dance and Literature clubs. One of her proudest achievements at Victoria Park has been the April Dance showcase she helped produce last year. When asked about it, she shared, “It touched me so much to see that they valued this experience that I provided to them”. It inspired her to see her five-person executive team grow into a family of individuals all interested in dance, practising and working towards their common goal.

Conclusion

Next time you have nothing to do during lunch, consider participating in a club meeting. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself enjoying meeting new people and learning from each other. These clubs have a lot in store for the future. Cubing Club and Dance Club will continue to host drop-in sessions for anyone interested. VP Lit has many upcoming reading and writing activities, and DITSY has many case studies and workshops prepared. If you aren’t interested in any of these, consider starting your own club! Many niche interests have yet to be explored at our school. You decide what your high school experience will be, so don’t be afraid to take the risk and try something new.