After a year of online club meetings, clubs have, for the most part, returned to in-person activities; however, clubs resorted to virtual meetings again over the past week to prevent the spread of COVID-19 per the administration’s Sept. 6 order. Even so, students said they enjoyed the first few weeks of club meetings and activities.

Since the club fair on Aug. 19, many of MSMS’s clubs held their first few meetings. Several students have expressed happiness over their club experiences so far. Junior Jenna Riggle, a member of the drama club and plant club, said she felt clubs are off to a good start.

“First meetings went really well,” Riggle said. “It was nice meeting everyone. I’m excited for them [future club meetings].”

Riggle said she was surprised that extracurriculars are such a large part of student life at MSMS. She said she had never been in a proper club before at her home school, so she was happy to have the opportunity to take part in clubs now.

Seniors have also said they had fun with the clubs. Elijah Roark, who is in the film club and the drama club, said both meetings he attended were enjoyable, even if they were introductions.

In particular, Roark said he was happy to have meetings not only virtually this year.

“They’re in-person. I don’t think I had any in-person club meetings last year,” Roark said.

Roark also said he felt safe from the pandemic at in-person meetings due to the use of masks and large, open meeting spaces. Riggle, however, said she felt safer during virtual meetings than in-person meetings but also said she thought virtual meetings could possibly take the fun out of certain clubs.

Senior Alex Wallace said he felt secure during some in-person meetings but not in others.

“Some meetings I would feel more comfortable attending virtually, especially those that have a lot of people,” Wallace said.

Wallace listed the COVID repercussions possible with larger clubs that worried him. He said he was mainly concerned that in clubs with several members, many people who are already close friends may not pay attention to social distancing rules. He felt unsure as to whether he felt safe from COVID-19 overall even after clubs took precautions to prevent its spread.