At the start of the new year at Benet, students have the chance to explore new opportunities with the opening of brand-new clubs. Last Wednesday, the New Club Approval Board of the Student Club and Activities Council approved two new clubs.
The first new club is the Pickleball Club, led by seniors Natalie Grover and Shane Delaney. These girls strive to open up new opportunities, as Pickleball has grown more popular over the years and has become widely regarded as a fun game for all ages. The Pickleball Club meets every Tuesday morning at 7:20 A.M. in Mr. Fitz’s room. These meetings consist of talking about when and where the team will play that week; these games are on a Thursday or Friday after school. During these matches, members of the club play against each other recreationally. Natalie Grover commented on a few future goals of the club, saying that “We are also going to try setting up a few tournaments throughout the year to get more people into it!”. The Pickleball Club is a great way to meet new Redwing and have a fun form of physical exercise.
Secondly, The Red Cross Club, led by juniors Riyaa Jain and Annie Villasenor, meets at 7:15 every Tuesday in Ms. Bates’ room. When explaining the purpose of the club, Riyaa Jain stated, “Red Cross Club aims to promote service in a healthcare setting.” When creating this club, Riyaa and Annie wanted a way to open up opportunities for students to get hands-on experiences in the medical field. Through Red Cross Club, Benet students will be offered unique opportunities for medical certifications, hands-on volunteer experiences (such as a blood drive), interactions with healthcare professionals and first responders, and a relationship with other Red Cross clubs in the area. The Red Cross Club also is working on getting NHS-sponsored service hours for their events. This club is similar to the Medical Club, but is more hands-on in its approach through the methods listed above. To paraphrase the club’s mission statement, its goal is for club participants to get involved and give back in the medical field.
The new clubs accepted at Benet this year will unlock new and exciting opportunities in several different ways. From playing pickleball games, to working in a healthcare setting, Benet Academy makes sure to open the door to all levels and facets of extracurricular involvement.
