AHS students stay united through virtual activities
Aarya Vaidya
Staff Writer
As students continue to wrap up the school year through online learning, school spirit is not lost. Students from the AHS leadership team have continued to work together to make sure that school events and activities continue virtually.
For students in leadership, the process of organizing these virtual activities has required them to step out of their comfort zones and come together in new ways.
“Our main form of communication [for leadership now] is through Facebook and an app called Slack. We are doing our best to communicate with each other, and we have a great team who [is] doing really well. It has definitely been harder to get more engagement because we aren’t physically together to work with each other and motivate one another,” said ASB President Phoebe Urbano (12).
The effort that students in leadership have put into planning their activities including virtual bingos, activities for Teachers’ Appreciation Week and Virtual Springfest have paid off. Students from all grade levels were encouraged to stay involved with these school activities.
“The way the activities were promoted were very interesting. For example, the flyers really stood out, and the overall promotion of the event [encouraged] me to participate. I also participated to feel more included with our school,” said Isha Kansal (10).
These activities have led many students to stay connected to their school during this time. This is especially true for freshmen who have not yet had the opportunity to experience events like Springfest directly at school.
“It was definitely unexpected to experience it virtually, as I was really looking forward to it [being in-person]. It was still cool to see how American works and how leadership can plan fun activities, even in times like these,” explained Keren Skariah (9).
Though students were able to feel more connected during their time home during these activities, the experience felt much more different than doing the activities at school.
“There is a lot less student involvement in my opinion because a lot of students don’t really feel as hyped to participate as before,” said Kansal.
On the other hand, virtual events have given some seniors the opportunity to reflect on the past years and get more involved in school spirit.
“Throughout high school, I did not participate [in school activities] as much as I wish I would have done. I would always say, ‘there’s next year’, which isn’t always the case. Covid-19 proved to me that we shouldn’t rely on those words…because you never know what’s going to happen next year,” said Brianna Ulloa (12).
For Ulloa, these activities have left an unexpected impact on her friendships.
“I didn’t think this was how it was going to turn out. To be honest, these activities have actually brought me closer to friends that I didn’t think I was going to become close with. It’s making me cherish the moments that I have with them now before we go onto the next chapter of our lives,” explained Ulloa.
For students in leadership, including Urbano, this has been their primary goal― keeping students and teachers together during quarantine.
“I hope these events will strengthen our relationships and connections with others at school. We want everyone to know that our community is a safe space and that they shouldn’t feel afraid to share things that make them happy. Especially with our current situation, it’s important to establish that sense of connectivity and friendship.”
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