On Thursday, Aug. 22, The Benjamin Upper School hosted its annual club fair for both new and returning students. The club fair is usually held during the first few weeks of school so that students can learn more about the myriad of clubs offered and sign up for those that interest them.
The club fair takes place in the gym, where tables and displays are set up by each organization. These tables are organized based on club blocks, meaning that they are placed in rows based on whether their meetings take place during A, B, C, or D Community Block.
Mr. Kevin Jacobsen, Upper School Dean of Students further explains how the club fair functions, “It’s arranged in a way so that students can figure out schedule-wise what clubs work for them and what they are most interested in. The club fair tables themselves are typically run by student leaders of the clubs.”
Each club is given the liberty to decorate and use its table however it would like. Whether by decorative signs, pamphlets explaining the club, examples of past club work, or cookies, every club does something special to ensure they draw in new members.
“We made sure to bring in some yummy treats like cookies and munchkins,” shared Co-President of JSU and junior Jonathan Vidal. “We also brought in the official JSU poster and banner, as well as a spin wheel, and some prizes like sunglasses, water bottles, and fidget cubes.”
Lila Cooper, junior and co-founder of the club Kids Luv Chem described her table, “We made a colorful poster using periodic table elements for the name of our club and bought cookies to put out.”
The club fair is the perfect opportunity for new students to find clubs they love and for returning students to rejoin clubs they enjoyed in the past. The event also allows for the possibility to discover new ones.
“I joined two clubs this year, Ambassadors and CLA [Civic Leaders of America]. I joined the Ambassadors Club because it is a great experience to get to help new students, and I joined CLA for leadership experience,” said freshman Payton Welke.
Junior Liam Duffy shares which clubs he joined during this year’s fair, “I ran the stand for the Habitat for Humanity Club and rejoined the Debate Club, both of which I have been a member of since freshman year. I also joined the Diversity Council because I felt like I could help connect all of the members of the school community.”
Clubs are one reason that the Benjamin School is able to create such an inclusive and diverse student body. They are a major aspect of the weekly lives of students at the Upper School and they communicate what the student body finds important or interesting while also bringing like-minded people together. Many of the clubs offer community service opportunities, interesting in-school projects, connections to culture, and so much more making them extremely important.
“I think the club fair is important because it goes back to the mission of the school which is to fully educate our students. Fully educating our students doesn’t just happen in the classroom, it happens all around. It’s important for us to give an outlet for students and their interests that are outside of the typical curriculum,” explained Mr. Jacobsen.
Students such as Cooper also believe that clubs are very important, “I think that all of the clubs I’m in will benefit me in the long run. I love being a part of the Ambassadors Club, for example, because we deal with making sure everyone’s included and give tours around the school.”
It seems the 2024 club fair was a success as students joined a variety of different clubs that interested them. Helping to create smaller communities within the large Benjamin community as well as giving students a way to undertake projects or discuss ways to make the school better, the fair and clubs that come with it seem to be a Benjamin norm that will remain important to students for many years to come.
