Coming Together Amid the Pandemic

The clubs of Fair Grove High School have been forced to overcome many obstacles for the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Due to the abrupt ending of the 2019-2020 school year, clubs such as FTA (Future Teachers of America) were unable to choose and assign officers. The clubs’ sponsor, Nikki Kisling, commented, “We handed out officer applications at our first meeting and will elect them before our next meeting in October.” 

Many of the clubs have been struggling the most with figuring out a perfect way to host club meetings while still following the COVID guidelines. Bailey Richardson (12), FFA (Future Farmers of America) club president, stated, “Precautions that we have personally taken on as a club is having more virtual meetings, such as we held some of our officer interviews virtually for the kids who were quarantined.” A rule was set in motion which stated that all clubs are to be held in locations with a camera due to contact tracing or in a teacher’s room as long as the teacher keeps track of where each student sits. 

Another issue for the clubs at Fair Grove is the traveling aspect. FTA normally participates in various activities throughout the school year, however, these are not possible this school year. Events they take part in include volunteering at Grandparent’s Day and visiting an education department at a local university. STUCO (Student Council) is another club that is unable to host events. A big impact on the school is the inability for STUCO to host fundraising functions. 

Every year Farmfest is an event that FFA travels to, but this year the club will be unable to partake in it. “Which is difficult because Farmfest is really the first event of the year that freshmen get to go on if they’ve worked hard enough and have enough participation points,” Richardson expressed. “I’m sad that we can’t attend, but I’m glad that everybody is taking the proper precautions.” 

All of the clubs have made heavy precautions to maintain the safety of the members. The most well known and attended club is S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions). Jon Foster, the club’s sponsor, says that the large club meetings will still be held and students are required to follow the COVID guidelines which include wearing masks and social distancing. Stephanie Dunham (11) reported, “Because of the pandemic we are forced to think of new and different ways to go about our normal activities. Such as learning to social distance better or making sure that everyone is wearing their masks when social distancing is no longer possible.”