The annual club expo was held on Sept. 20 during lunch on the back practice field, featuring a little over 170 school clubs and extracurricular activities for students.

The club expo is held at the beginning of each school year and is a way for student leaders to showcase their club, explain how to join and connect with potential members. “The club expo is a chance for students to visually see all the clubs that Wootton offers each school year. It gives new students a chance to sign up and meet club leaders or for returning students to sign up for a different club and get involved in our school community,” Extracurricular Activities Director Keith Schwartz said.

In past years, the club expo has taken place in the main gym, where each club was given a table to put their tri-folds, flyers and bowls of candy on. This year, the expo took place on the back practice field and instead of tables, clubs were given yard signs that they could decorate and plant into the ground. Clubs could choose where to station their sign, and in the end, formed a large circle around the field.

Schwartz said the location change was due to an increase in the number of clubs, and for cleanliness. “We have many students that want to start different clubs, which expanded our number this year over what can be held in the gym. There was also a lot of trash left on the floor last year and that main gym needs to be clean for the gym classes and sports teams that use it. The outside option gave us more room to spread out,” Schwartz said.

This change has sparked mixed reactions among students. “I didn’t really like how some of the clubs’ posters were covered because they were so small and it didn’t really help that there were so many people there. Putting ice pops at the door is also kind of a bad idea because I waited for like three minutes just to get outside because people were stopping to get ice pops,” freshman Maggie Yao said.

Senior Aarna Rastogi is a co-captain for Science Olympiad and has been in leadership for two years. She said the new club expo format was “definitely interesting,” and preferred having the expo inside. “I think it’s better to have the indoors version because it’s a lot cooler, like temperature wise, inside, and easier to display all of the information necessary for the clubs. It also puts clubs in alphabetical order so that makes specific clubs easier to find,” Rastogi said.

As of now, this format is subject to change. “We will make a decision at the beginning of next year. My plan is to get feedback from student leaders, club sponsors and administrators to get an idea of what went well and what [we] could improve and then make a final decision based on that feedback,” Schwartz said.

In addition to the club expo changing location, the club attendance policy has also been revised. Last year, all club members and leaders were required to fill out a Google Form stating that they attended meetings. This procedure remains the same for this year, but the form will also ask students to submit a picture of themselves at the club meeting with their sponsor present. Club leaders could take one group photo and have club members submit the same picture to the form. Schwartz said this ensures that clubs are meeting at least once a month and that sponsors are aware about club activities.

Having each club member submit a photo “seems kind of unnecessary,” to Rastogi. “If they really do want a picture, then I think it should be OK for only club officers to have to submit that; everyone else can submit a normal form [without a picture] like the ones last year,” Rastogi said.

Financial policies are also being further emphasized this year, though the rules have not changed. Schwartz and Financial Specialist Julia Walsh hosted a mandatory club leader meeting on Sept. 12 where they discussed the importance of club finances. They reiterated that money can not be handled by students and that club sponsors must be present at all cash-collecting events such as fundraisers or bake sales.

Despite its format and club policy changes, the club expo has remained an integral part of the school. Particularly for freshmen who are still adjusting to their first month of high school, the expo served as a new but telling experience about the school. “I feel welcomed because there were a bunch of people with the same interests as me. I was also kind of overwhelmed because there were so many people there and so many different clubs to choose from. It was pretty cool seeing how many different interests were covered,” Yao said.

The club expo remains a unique, yearly school tradition and continues to be a reminder of the important ways students can make an impact outside of the classroom. “Academics are an important part of high school, but so is building a community and making memories. Clubs and extracurricular activities are a great way to be involved in your school beyond just going to class. The expo is a great opportunity to see what some of those extracurricular options are,” Schwartz said.