COVID causes club chaos

Many club activities at the high school have changed due to the Covid-19.  

FFA (Future Farmers of America), has changed quite a bit due to Covid-19, beginning with the cancellation of all fall conferences and field trips, according to Advisor Mr. David Bittner. 

Mr. Bittner said the FFA club had already had a virtual Wildlife Competition and will be having a virtual Forestry Competition in December. In the virtual Wildlife Competition, the students had to take a 100-question test on wildlife identification, habitat management and conservation strategies, he added.    

Mr. Bittner said the club had a fundraiser already, selling fresh fruit, frozen cheesecakes and poinsettias for the holidays. In February they will be selling fresh Florida strawberries, and in March they will be selling Easter flowers, he added. With the school going 100 percent virtual, according to Mr. Bittner, the club will still continue to raise funds and distribute items through virtual communication and a contactless-curbside pickup.   

Mr. Bittner said the FFA club does have officer meetings on Virtual Wednesdays. They have the meetings to plan member meetings for Thursdays, he said.  

“We meet for 30-40 minutes every-other week virtually, but students may attend in-person on Thursdays in the Ag Room. We follow a student-created, pre-planned agenda, conduct the Official FFA Opening /Closing Ceremonies, and follow parliamentary procedure for all member meetings,” Mr. Bittner said. 

“We typically have 20-30 members attend meetings. When in-person, we socially-distance and wear masks. When virtual, our meetings take place on Teams,” he said. Due to the school going virtual until Jan. 11, the club meeting are now held virtually, he added.   

FFA President Kara Mull, a senior, said what she misses most about the normalcy in the club is being able to go to conferences and being able to make new friends. She said she also misses being able to learn what is new about agriculture. 

Early Childhood Education Teacher Ms. Amanda Smith-Derck, advisor of the Skills USA club, said there is going to be a district competition virtually in January, and the State competition will be set virtually in the spring.  

Unfortunately, the team competitions were cancelled due to restrictions, she said. The competitions that specifically affected the Milton club were “TeamWorks–– a building trades specific competition that allows four students to work together to complete a project” and “Crime Scene Investigation-– a criminal justice specific competition where three students work together to gather evidence and work through a crime scene,” she added. 

According to Ms. Smith–Derck, due to the new Covid-19 procedures a lot of students have decided not to participate this year. The students that chose to be in the club had to adapt to virtual competitions and virtual meetings, she said.  

“Meetings will occur virtually, and I just met with the officers last week regarding this,” she explained. “Meetings will typically only last 20-30 minutes depending on the topic and business that needs discussed during the meeting.” 

“There are no current fundraisers but we did complete a fundraiser with a Dress Down Day with faculty/staff recently. I am uncertain if there will be future fundraisers since we are virtual until Jan 11.,” Ms. Smith-Derck said. 

Ms. Jamie Emery-Seibert, Computer/Technology teacher and advisor of the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), said students in the club will be competing virtually through Jan. 10. Due to Covid-19, the in-person Regional Leadership Conference was cancelled, she added.  

“Currently students are competing virtually– Ian Keefer, Alysia Prieto, Ryleigh Mabus, Tyler Force, Ashley Shamblen and Kayli Johnson. The competitions will end Jan. 10, and then we will have a virtual conference to learn about winners,” she said.  

According to Ms. Emery-Seibert, there are no current fundraisers due to no financial needs. She explained that they don’t have travelling expenses for Regionals.  

“If we get word that SLC will happen, we will sell whoopie pies and discuss other possible fundraisers. We also will bring back Donkey Basketball if we move to normal activities,” she added. 

Ms. Emery-Seibert said due to the new Covid-19 procedures, the club has to meet virtually. She added that she has been working individually with students, getting them set up and prepared to compete.