Welcome back, Bluejays! This school year has been a whirlwind—from hijacked speakers at assemblies to nasty weather interrupting final exams—but it isn’t over yet. Whether you’re a freshman excited for summer, or a senior looking forward to graduation, it isn’t too late to get involved with some of the school’s remaining activities.

Clubs are still up and running. Many of them would enjoy your attendance! Some, like Writers’ Guild, are eager for new members. Writers’ Guild helps install confidence in its members. “It’s provided an opportunity to have more fun with writing without academic pressure,” says sponsor Katie Ragsdale. “You can explore more things and share with peers.” Writers’ Guild meets every second, fourth, and fifth Thursday of each month. Students interested in joining a club can find all of them on the school website in the ‘Clubs and Activities’ page under the High School banner.

We’re still in the thick of winter! Winter sports such as basketball, swimming, and wrestling are still active. Getting involved and playing sports is a great way to gain experience that can be used forever. Wrestling coach Adam Wright says that sports keep students doing positive things in their free time, keeps them accountable, and “teaches them valuable life lessons like how to succeed, even though you may fail at times, how to learn from that and turn it into future successes and how to keep going and how to be accountable to teammates and to yourself both in competition and in the classroom.” Boys’ basketball coach Adam Carpenter attests for the challenging nature of sports due to the uncomfortable environment, and says another important thing that can be learned from playing sports is “learning to be a part of a team, not necessarily getting highlighted for every single thing that you do.” 

Wrestling has three more home games left in the season, the closest being the Big 8 Tournament on Feb. 1. Boys’ basketball has a makeup game against Camdenton on Jan. 16 at 5 PM, and they need Bluejay support. Coach Adam Carpenter encourages attendance. “We’ve only had one home game this year,” says Carpenter, “but I feel like the crowd really helped us.”

Finally, Project Grad chocolate sales have begun! “Project Grad is a program that provides a safe place for seniors after graduation to prevent substance-related deaths,” says senior Katie Sammons. “The money pays for food, venue, prizes, etc. It’s pretty neat.” Chocolates are $1 each, and the sale ends on Jan. 31.

Get involved, support the seniors and athletes, and have a great semester, Bluejays!