New Realizations and Appreciation
This year has definitely been a different year. I never would have thought this is what my senior year would have looked like. I had been looking forward to my senior year and was excited about being the Student Council President. It has been frustrating trying to figure out ways to have some of the activities we had all been expecting to have. Knowing how much everyone was struggling with this new normal, I knew Student Council needed to find ways to plan activities we could do together.
Student Council, like other clubs, has had to think outside of the box to come up with ways to host activities. One of our biggest challenges this year was having a Virtual Homecoming. We were able to plan a few things this year such as changing the Taste of HBR to HBR Takes It On The Road. We were happy to find a way to put a spotlight on some of our local businesses since they have helped us out so much in previous years. We had spirit days and car decorating. We also changed the parade to the Parade of Decorated Homes. Even though we didn’t have as big of a turnout as we would have hoped for, it was still fun to see people get creative and decorate their homes or businesses.
 |
| Tessa participating in Twin Day |
Another big event that we have all come to really look forward to is game night. Previous years we had many different activities like board games, video games, dodge ball tournaments, a bounce house and knockerball. It took a lot of planning, but we were able to have a fun night with over 50 students and a few staff on a Google Meets. We had activities like a scavenger hunt, kahoot, marshmallow tower building and scattergories. It was not what we had all come to love about game night but it was still enjoyable.
Like Student Council, FFA and Renaissance, have both planned some virtual activities that I have enjoyed taking part in. We are all learning to think outside the box to come up with ideas to make up for all of the other activities that we are missing due to the unusual circumstances.
 |
| Tessa and Maria back in class |
Having no sports, game nights, renaissance rallies, or other activities to look forward to definitely takes a toll on staying motivated for school. Remote learning was hard because we didn’t get to interact with our friends and teachers as we were used to. I am happy to have the chance to be back in person for school since it makes it easier to push myself. I try to remain hopeful that we may still be able to have prom, shortened sport seasons, and a graduation. Seeing how everyone has worked this year at trying to figure out new options for activities has made me realize how much people care and how important having support from teachers and friends is.
Tessa Prellberg