During the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs at Penn-Trafford have had to adjust to new health guidelines for the safety of the students. Some recurring clubs have had to learn to adapt to the changes, while new clubs have only started during these strange times.
Senior Rylee Brannan started the Unified Club this year and because of the school’s hybrid learning, the new club, as well as most other clubs, have been unable to meet after school.
“We’ve all been using Google Meets, and even though we’re new to this we’ve been making it work and coming up with new ideas,” stated Brannan.
Brannan said she wanted to create this club last year but had difficulties with scheduling.
“I wanted to create a safe space for people of all diversities and people that are in the LGBT,” said Brannan. She was able to jumpstart the new club this year, along with the help of Alexandra Carl, Billy Elias, and other seniors.
Classes at P-T have had some difficulty adjusting to the new style of learning, and the same challenges appear in clubs who have had to adjust to a new kind of environment.
“Most of the students that are creating this are doing fully online, and we all have our own schedules so it’s hard to sit down and find a time to meet. Things come up and then we miss things from the meeting. It’s a lot to handle,” stated Brannan
New clubs at P-T are not the only ones who have had to adjust amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The P-T Drama Guild has had to adjust to performing live theater while still maintaining social distancing.
Drama Guild sponsor Jennifer Haberberger said this year’s fall play was chosen specifically due to pandemic concerns.
“With COVID-19 and not knowing what is going to happen from day to day, the director, Tom Bekavac, started looking for monologues or socially distanced plays in the summertime,” said Haberberger about their choice, “Most Likely To: The Senior Superlative Monologues.”
Senior Gabriel List is taking part in his fourth fall play, but due to new health guidelines the show will be different from the year’s past.
“Most Likely To” is a series of monologues that takes place at an award ceremony where each character delivers a monologue discussing his or her award. Due to the nature of the show, the Drama Guild has had little difficulty adjusting to social distancing guidelines, and has put certain measures in place to make sure they are followed.
“The Drama Guild is currently having everyone coming in with a mask, and we all stay about six feet away from each other, which includes when we’re sitting down. We’ve marked off seats in the auditorium and each seat has been determined about six feet away from each other,” said List.
List also described that due to the structure of the show it has been easy for the cast to maintain social distancing as they are brought in for rehearsals only on certain days.
Whether they are in person or online, clubs at P-T have found ways to adapt to a new environment that people are still getting used to, and are still able to perform and actively participate in activities.
Maddie Decker, Managing Editor