If you want time to pursue an extracurricular interest and have fun with friends at school, joining a club at school might be the thing for you to do!
Maybe you have a particular interest that your school doesn’t have a preexisting club for. If this is the case, consider starting your own club. While it might take extra time organizing and planning on your part, starting a club at school can be fun, deepen your passion for your particular interest, and be an opportunity for you to share your passion with others. Here are some steps for starting and tips for running a club at your school:
- Brainstorm a club and name idea.
- Get others interested. Reach out to people individually, explaining what specific activities your club will be doing and why you would love for them to join. Using personal invitations instead of a mass invite makes others more likely to stop by meeting and participate in club activities. Ask those who have a preexisting interest in whatever your club is about as well as those who have never participated in similar activities.
- Get permission from the school administrator or staff person who is in charge of student clubs/ organizations. Let them know you are interested in starting a club. They may want to know how many other students have committed to participating, your schedule of meetings, and an outline of your planned activities. If possible, to avoid schedule conflicts, have your club meet during the school day (e.g. during lunch or a resource period) so that people are more likely to be available.
- Plan fun activities. If you are running a Spanish club, for example, you might want to play Scrabble using only Spanish words. Or you might want to play Spanish grammar trivia and have people race to a table and slap it to answer the questions. If you are running a volleyball club, try having everyone play on their knees or on one foot to switch things up. Some people might find the club more fun if you don’t do the same activity every meeting. If you are struggling to come up with ideas, you can ask your friends, parents, and/or a teacher for inspiration. (Example: Your math teacher might have in mind some fun activities for a math club.) You can also look up ideas on the internet.
- Make sure the activities you plan are inclusive of everyone. For example, if you are planning Spanish trivia, include some easier questions that only first-year students are allowed to try to answer. If you are leading a running club and one person is pretty slow and lagging behind the group, make sure they are not left behind and encourage them to keep running and work on improving.
- Advertise your club meetings with posters on school bulletin boards. Canva is a website that allows you to make aesthetic posters for free! Make sure every poster includes location, time, and mentions that all are welcome regardless of experience.
- Bringing snacks and drinks will definitely be appreciated by everyone. Suggest club members take turns signing up to bring snacks so that you do not have to pay for it all. You can also bake something either by yourself or with your parents and/or sibling(s) to bring to your club meeting.
- No matter what kind of club you are running, you can always arrange for your club to do a service project and extend the invitation to those who are not part of your club. It can be a simple service activity such as making sandwiches for a local food pantry. A service project could be a great idea for your club not only because it is helpful, but also because it can allow many people to learn about and join your club. After all, many people at your school need service hours to graduate or for their faith tradition. Your club’s service project could be a great opportunity for them to do that at school while spending time with their friends. Also, if they join your club in participating in a service activity they might decide they want to attend your club’s regular meetings as well.
Starting a club at your school can enrich not only yourself and your fellow club members but also your entire school community! There is no time like the present to start a club at your school!