Column by J1 Reporter Ruthie Barrett

It is Tuesday night at 9 p.m. and you have just finished your last assignment. It’s been a difficult week, but you suddenly remember it’s a late start tomorrow. The relief disappears as quickly as it came and you realize you have a club meeting tomorrow at 7:50 a.m.. 

This is a common occurrence for many Marian girls. After the never ending list of homework, the jobs in the evening, and time set away for yourself, clubs that girls were once so excited about are now set on the back burner for the time being until there is enough time. The Dean of Students, Mrs. Kris Hennings, might have found a solution to this problem.

As the Dean of Students, Hennings also oversees all the clubs Marian has. From Pickleball to Sign Language Club there are so many ways girls can get involved. Before the pandemic, Marian girls were very involved with clubs and were very active participants, however this has declined since the pandemic and Hennings’ main goal is to get clubs up and running again and get as many girls participating as possible. 

Last year, faculty noticed the diminishing participation in clubs and they wanted to define the problem and a way to fix it. Hennings came up with the idea to have clubs meet during a Crusader Activity Block (CAB) “because girls are so busy” and don’t have enough time to attend meetings before or after school. 

The club CAB took place on Nov 10 and the lead up to it was a little more stressful than Hennings had predicted. “There are many moving pieces and this is the first one, so I do not know how it’s going to work out,” Hennings said. The CAB was split in half, so girls could attend more than one meeting. Eleven clubs signed up to meet and they were spread all over the school. For example, Ping Pong Club was in the QUAD and the Sustainability Club was in the cafeteria. Some of the other clubs that met on this Thursday were FBLA, Veggie Club, Culinary Club, Fandom Club, Pickleball Club, Young Medicine and the Sole Sisters Running Club.  The TARS (technology aide resource students) also used the time to meet and have the moderators explain the application and selection process.  The school’s brand new vocal jazz ensemble also met during the second half of the CAB.

Mr. JP Franco, the Spanish teacher and moderator of the Ping Pong Club reflected on the success of the CAB, “I think it was pretty successful and we had many girls who were not signed up for the club come and join in on the fun.” This is the first year Marian has had a Ping Pong Club, so the participation of around 30 girls for one of their first meetings is a good sign for the longevity of the club. 

Although the girls had some fun during the CAB, the chances of another one are low.