Clubs are a significant part of the high school experience. However, they are not just resume-builders. Clubs give students opportunities to do extra things outside of school, ranging from involvement in the community to engagement in an activity of interest. They push students to go out of their comfort zone to find something they enjoy. National Honor Society provides a lot of opportunities to volunteer or to help organizations. Future Doctors of America helps students see what it would be like to be a doctor, and they hear speeches from adults in the medical field and explore the different occupations related to medicine. Ophelia allows young women to learn about female empowerment and to help other women talk about issues such as domestic violence and abuse.

Today was the second full ACCA Day, or Club Day, of the school year. During Club Days, Robinson’s students attend different club meetings based on the traditional bell schedule. ACCA stands for Academic Counseling and CAS Advisory. IB Students also have a chance to work on homework, catch up on makeup work, get help from teachers and talk to their guidance counselors.

In essence, ACCA Days are beneficial to IB students because of the extra time with which it provides them. Students have many other activities to do outside of school, and ACCA Days provide a convenient time and place for students to fulfill the responsibilities on which they’ve been procrastinating.

But ACCA/Club Days are predominantly a time for students to go to club meetings. Having this day makes students more inclined to join a club. In most schools, club meetings have to be held outside of school, and many students don’t want to commit more out-of-school time than they have to, especially if they play a sport or an instrument.

I believe that all schools should have Club Days. Clubs are important for students to join because of the variation of unique benefits that each one can provide. The presence of Club Days ensures that students go to their clubs, and it gives them more of a chance to be involved with them. Many students don’t think twice about the clubs that they join, but if club meetings are held during school hours, they will be more likely to attend the meetings and therefore become a bigger part of the school and a better student.

Plus, they don’t take much time off of the school calendar. It’s worth it to have a few club days every year and and to have teachers slightly alter their schedules in order for students to participate within their community and to be more in touch with their passions.

Club Days are a necessity. Although most schools don’t have anything like them, they are a big benefit to high school students and should become standard among schools.