Currently, there are over 60 different clubs at Haven.
There have been many other unique ones in the past as well, such as Juggling Club, Gourmet Club, and even a Peek-A-Boo club. So, what happened to all these clubs? Some newer clubs bear a resemblance to their older counterparts, others seem to have disappeared completely.
While some clubs’ disappearances could be explained by considering the content matter — a David Letterman club might not be as popular as it was in 1985, for example — others don’t have as easy an explanation.
According to Mme. Stadnicki, who is the Co-Director of Haven Activities, one thing that can make or break a club is the student leadership.
“If you don’t have that core group of student leaders that are willing to put in the organizational time, it might not be successful,”Stadnicki said. “You need student leaders that are going to promote the meetings, whether it’s on Schoology, the announcements, or around the school.”
One of these student leaders, junior Joy Yang, has experience with creating and sustaining clubs. As the president and founder of the Reading Olympics and the junior captain of the Science Olympiad, Yang uses many tools to maintain awareness of her clubs.
“I would make posters and have announcements for the club,” Yang said. “But I think, for me, one of the most effective ways is if you think a person is a good fit [for the club], reach out to them.”
Another advertising method that Yang and other club leaders value is the Activities Fair, which helps clubs gain new members every year. For many club leaders, it is an opportunity to generate interest for their club.
One such club leader is Scarlett Rein, who is the co-editor in chief of Jabberwocky, Haven’s literary magazine.
“The Activities Fair was a really big day for us, where we were able to show everyone the physical copies of what we’ve created and explain it to them,” Rein said. “And even though some people didn’t want to join the magazine itself, they were really excited to submit, and that’s kind of the main goal of the magazine.”
Rein utilizes many of the same awareness-raising techniques as Yang to keep membership up at her club. However, clubs have to also juggle fifth block scheduling constraints, which presents another obstacle. Jabberwocky’s way of negotiating this is by having 30 minute meetings, while Science Olympiad often makes its practices after the fifth block.
Even with all of these solutions, however, sometimes clubs end up not having enough members to continue. Stadnicki chalks this up to members graduating. She notes that clubs with a strong role at Haven tend to last longer.
“If you had a really strong student leadership for a club, and if it’s part of a tradition of Haven, I think we’re able to sustain it better,” Stadnicki said.
