With topics ranging from aerial photography to cybersecurity, the Staples community fosters a variety of unique clubs and activities. However, many were uncertain how clubs would fare during a global pandemic. 

Club leaders remain persistent in working to continue their clubs while abiding by COVID-19 precautions. By utilizing applications like Zoom, leaders aim to bring their clubs back to create a sense of normality for the Staples community. 

“Even though COVID-19 has disrupted the way our club normally operates, it’s great that we are still able to meet and accomplish most of what we want to do,” Claire Lee ’21, president of Girls Who Code, said. “We are able to meet on Zoom and post important documents to Google Classroom.” 

Girls Who Code and Chamber Music Club would normally attend in-person events and competitions and are now faced with the challenges of figuring out when and how to perform. 

“Distance learning has made the clubs more difficult and almost impossible for students to rehearse and perform in person unless outside of school,” Zach Bishop ’22, co-president of the Chamber Music Club, said.

Bishop emphasized the importance of more individual-based learning and practice for clubs like Chamber Music that don’t have as many opportunities to practice together. 

“I am going to send everyone their music after creating the groups in order for members to have something to work on at home,” Bishop said. “Brief meetings or discussion posts amongst groups will be recommended so members know what to work on.”

Despite these restrictions that distance learning and COVID-19 have brought, leaders are optimistic about the accommodations they have been making. 

“We are brainstorming as a team on what to do so it is fun for everyone,” Ana Punia ’22, co-president of Students Supporting Special Athletes, said. “We are doing movies over zoom, [to] get to know [each other], [and eventually] we are going to do a walk-a-thon.”

Clubs and after-school activities continue to remain a critical aspect of Staples, and leaders and members are doing their best to maintain a sense of community. 

“We are just trying to make the best of a situation,” Punia said. “Our club is very based on meeting up since it is all fun and games, but this year we really have to come up with something different.”