Online and Thriving – How Selma High’s Clubs Stay Active During the School Closure

Even with COVID-19 still in full fledged, clubs and activities are still offered online. Be sure to join any you are interested in because clubs are always looking for new members!

Key Club 

International is the largest student led organization entirely dedicated to service. The Selma High’s Key Club focuses their time and effort on holding service projects, community outreach, and raising funds for organizations such as The Pediatric Trauma Program and UNICEF, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

During the school shutdown, Key Club has faced difficulties as many large scale service events are being cancelled such as their annual beach cleanup and District Convention with California, Nevada, and Hawaii. Despite these setbacks Key club has managed to hold events such as a Social Distanced Park Clean Up with Fresno Highschool Key Club, monthly service weeks where members can earn community service hours, online social events with other Key Clubs in the area, as well as college application workshops with Circle K’s at Universities of California, the college level of Key Club. 

“We do so much for our community and for other individuals that really make a difference,” states Sujei Salas, the club’s Vice President of Fundraising. “I have also met some of my closest friends through Key Club. I definitely recommend Key Club for anyone that is passionate and dedicated to helping others and making a ton of friends from all over our Cali-Nev-Ha District.” She encourages anyone to join and invites students to their online meetings every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Social Justice Club

Selma High’s Social Justice Club has the goal of educating the student body on injustices people face in society while also highlighting minority groups whose voices are often silenced. “We yearn to identify and invoke conversations on social injustices that are undeservingly stigmatized or considered taboo topics,” expresses Kailee Ortiz, the club’s Treasurer.. “Together, we hope to make a change in how each and every member of our community perceives and reacts to injustice.” 

The pandemic has impacted the Social Justice Club in how they interact and engage with the community. Their goal of reaching community members has become more difficult as they cannot gather in face to face group discussions and their member’s limited outreach. Due to the current circumstances, The Social Justice Club has taken this as an opportunity to brainstorm ideas for the future that would allow the club to reach a larger audience and larger recognition in the community. The club’s current goal is to provide a safe space for students to express themselves and use their voices within the community. They encourage any student to reach out and join their meetings in order to further educate themselves about social injustices in a reliable and supportive club.

Drama Club

Lights! Camera! Action! The Selma High Drama Club is a performing arts club which encourages students to put themselves out there and step out of their comfort zone. In previous years the drama club has put on multiple performances and musicals.However, due to the  pandemic they have had to halt their productions. The pandemic also caused a setback in meetings which the club overcame by beginning to have online virtual meetings. These modifications have also given the club the opportunity to host workshops at every meeting that focus on building the student’s character development and general theater knowledge. The Drama Club has the goal to reach out to the student body and encourage students to join the club in order to build self confidence by attempting something new. 

“I think that people should join because it is a lot of fun, and it is a way to get out of your comfort zone and try something new,”shares Amiannah Martinez, the club’s President.  I love being a part of the club because everyone is really supportive, and it’s a place where I can just be myself.”  She invites anyone interested to join the club and experience time in the spotlight for themselves.

Friday Night Live

The Friday Night Live Club at Selma High is focused on opening up the conversation about real world problems that the student body may face such as underaged drinking and substance abuse. Their goal is to provide a safe environment to express emotions and talk about possible solutions to those problems within the community and student body. The school closure has required Friday Night Live to resort to online virtual meetings to talk about current issues occurring in the community as well as issues that are often overlooked. The club hopes to reach out to the student population in order to recruit members and help the club have a more active and present role at Selma High. 

“I would tell new members that they are welcome and so are their ideas,” voiced Emma Porras, one of the club’s freshman members. “I would also tell them that their feelings are valid, [and] if they are offended by something, then they should feel comfortable enough to say something. One of our goals is to make people feel like they are welcome and heard,” Friday Night Live motivates anyone interested to reach out and attend some of their upcoming meetings.