Clubs are often considered a central part of a school’s community, bolstering friendships and allowing students to delve deeper into their interests.  Post pandemic, extracurricular life at the Academy has vibrantly bounced back with 22 active clubs, ranging from Pollinators to Fashion to Yearbook. 

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted club operations, interfering with the usual mentoring process in which student leaders serve as role models for younger members so that the group may last beyond their graduation. The results of such an obstacle were felt the following two years as “clubs were very inactive [in the 2021-2022 school year], aside from maybe three” according to Mrs. Elena Ameres, Student Activities Coordinator and Science Teacher. 

Mrs. Ameres shared that the club status policy was recently updated. A new list of club requirements has helped control the quality of AOSE’s many clubs, all of which offer opportunities for student leadership and enacting change in the community. For instance, the policy states that “club leaders will have more responsibility in keeping track of student attendance, accountability, meeting minutes, and service work.”

In addition to a mandatory service component, Mrs. Ameres also noted, “Now there are minimum group meeting requirements.”  With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, she is optimistic about the future of the Academy’s clubs as their revitalization “[has] been going in the right direction.”

To see a catalog of AOSE’s 2022-2023 clubs, visit this link.