Clubs are foundational to students’ experience at PHS. They support and engage PHS students while fostering connections and learning new skills. Often, members stay with their clubs for all four years of high school.

Because of this, the club fair is one of the most important parts of high school, especially for new students; when they are able to explore stands that house their interests, joining clubs becomes much easier. Upperclassmen benefit from the club fair as well — it’s never too late for them to join activities that they are interested in.

Last year, the club fair was a disaster. It took place entirely online, with badly formatted videos and tiny virtual boxes for each club. Without interacting with club representatives, it was difficult to figure out which clubs fit your personality. In the end, the only reason I joined any clubs at all was because they either started before the school year or because one of the members contacted me after the club fair.

This year, the atmosphere of the club fair was much more interactive. Club leaders excitedly handed out candy while telling new and old students alike about how fun their clubs are. Poetry Club, which barely met last year, got over 220 sign-ups, because the representatives were able to connect with people.

Maybe it was because of the open green field or the enthusiasm of club leaders, but the club fair had an almost tangible sense of excitement. Many clubs, such as Cultural and Racial Equity and Mock Trial, broke sign-up records, and are coming up with new ways to engage this surplus of students.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the classes and expectations we’re subjected to instead of enjoying our high school experience. The in-person club fair was a great start to having more fun at the high school, and as a student body, we need to maintain our positive spirit.

Lots of clubs suffer extremely high dropout rates and membership loss in the first few weeks, often because prospective members just ignore the emails of clubs they sign up for. This is one of the shortcomings of club fair, but it’s something that’s pretty easy to improve upon — just go to the activities you signed up for. Clubs are crucial to our school’s well-being and the maintainance of our school spirit, and the best way to keep them alive is to show up and contribute.