Melbourne High

Teachers, Clubs, and Hostings! by Tyler Ferreira Alves Hill

With a plentiful amount of clubs present at Melbourne High School, one may begin to think of how they have come to be or how they have operated. Whether it has been expected clubs such as Band or Chess, to more unique options such as the Clash Royale Club or the Beach Clean Up Crew—Mel High has granted these options in due thanks to Student creativity and the teachers who have sponsored, such as Ms. Willwerth behind the Clash Royale Club, and Mr. Hall with the Gay-Straight Alliance.

Although it is likely not obvious to the common student here at Melbourne High School, the clubs are created based off of student drive and intent. “So the kids started it, and then they got a couple of people together. They got a form from the front office, and they had to get enough people to sign it so that there was enough people showing interest in the club. Then they got me to sponsor it—they asked me if I would sponsor it, I said sure, then they had the sponsor and enough people, they turned it to Doctor Kirk. Then, he signed off on it, and that’s it.” said Ms. Willwerth about the formation of the club she sponsored, and “... Coming out of the Covid shutdown, Some of the campus’ LGBT students—they themselves felt threatened or targeted, and so they wanted to start the GSA which had become defunct. A young man approached me, and asked me if I would sponsor it, and I said I’d love to.” said Mr. Hall about his.

Not only that, but as Mr. Hall said, “... I believe that the clubs should be primarily student lead, so I’ll just leave that up to the young people—not old folk like me.” instructed, formatted, and planned by the students on campus, with teachers being involved to a minimal. “None. I just supervise. It’s very student-lead. I’m just here to make sure nobody is fighting each other or anything crazy. They plan everything, they have their own instagram that they run themselves, they figured out the president and vice-president themselves. Everything they did themselves.” said Ms. Wellworth, and “For the GSA, I definitely sit in the background. I make sure that the environment is a safe place for everyone. Hopefully, the students themselves, feel comfortable enough to lead their own meetings.” said Mr. Hall.

With this creativity and freedom offered, this has highlighted what the teacher’s believed to be the primary benefit of clubs themselves. “It builds a sense of community. Sometimes clubs are the only thing that keeps kids coming back to school; they’ll have a sport they wanna be apart of, or a club, and they’ll get good grades if they stay in it. I think it’s just good to try a lot of things when you’re young. I know when I was in school, I was parts of all different clubs ‘cause I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, so I got to try a bunch of different things. I did yearbook, I did spelling—all sorts of things. I think it’s just fun.” said Ms. Willwerth, and “I think this a time for young people to learn more than academics, and clubs can be a setting for them developing social skills and learning topics not covered in the classroom.” said Mr. Hall. 

So whether the club created is one to be found by others who enjoy playing games similar, such as mobile or strategy physical games, or it being a club that allowed people to find a safe place due to their identity or lives, clubs have offered students more than a safe place to experience their high school periods and gain something just as valuable as a good grade.