As we all know, many things have changed since COVID-19 swept the nation in February of last year. Fortunately, students at BT, as Mr. Bosley says, “improvised, adapted and overcame the struggles of the pandemic.” One of the many things that needed to be evolved because of the Coronavirus has been clubs at BT.

As a club head myself, I know that my fellow club heads and I have spent hours trying to determine how to make events fun and safe during the Coronavirus. Before the world changed, clubs at BT thrived by hosting events in person. Now, club heads must consider how to engage both in-person and virtual students.

Lexi H. ‘22, club head of Helping Hands and TOGA, has been a part of BT clubs since her freshman year. While TOGA has not had any events yet, Lexi and her co-club heads are planning fun socially distanced events in person. As for Helping Hands, they are “a big part of bunches of lunches and that has been [continuing] like normal.” When asked about Zoom events, Lexi says that she “[does not like] the idea of zoom meetings because it isn’t as rewarding. There are so many activities and opportunities you miss out on when you aren’t together and [are] behind a screen.” Hearing that some things are able to stay the same like Bunches of Lunches provides comfort to many who are anxious in regards to the unknowns and changes that have occurred. Bunches of Lunches is a great opportunity to receive community service hours, so look out for dates from your grade representatives.

Erela I. ‘22, club head of KARE, says that her club “had previously been based on in-person interaction[s].” Therefore, it must have been very difficult for her to transform her club to an entirely virtual platform. This year, the popular KARE awards will be taking place online and nominations [will be] held through a Google Form. Erela acknowledges that an advantage of “virtual [programming] is that [clubs] are able to open themselves up to new members and people are able to be more involved.” KARE is an incredible club that strives to recognize acts of kindness around our school.

Another club you may recognize is CIA from their bi-weekly Israel updates at assembly. Club head, Maya T. ‘22 changed the small news reports from in person to zoom this year. She also plans to “start programming and teach[ing] about Israel in a fun and engaging way.” So, don’t miss out on the CIA updates or the fun events in store.

All of these clubs and many more attempt to plan safe events that are still fun and interactive. While the pandemic has been as challenging as a quarantine puzzle at times, these club heads are ready for the challenge. If you would like to join any of these clubs or others, join their Schoology pages to receive notifications about event details.