Virtual Student Clubs - Student Connection School Relationships

Marilyn Mosley blog

August 10, 2009

Virtual Clubs, Nurturing our Learning Community

When we first opened Laurel Springs in 1991, we held twice-monthly evening forums. Our forums covered topics as diverse as world cultures, psychology, creative writing, film, earth science, and lectures from remarkable people. Those forums, held at our school headquarters, were dynamic and very memorable. In fact, students from that era still talk about the wonderful friendships they developed and the bonds they created.

I’ve been eager to recreate the sense of connection our students experienced during that period. Yet, we’ve faced one big challenge: our students reside in all 50 states and 43 countries. So, it was clear, we’d have to create global experiences. With that hope in mind, last year, we launched our first online clubs. What a wonderful, rich and remarkable explosion of creativity and communication emerged from our students! Our Creative Writing Club members designed their own magazine called Visions and Voices; our Debate Club continued meeting during the summer months; and our Music Club members worked together on creating a piece of music. It was clear: online clubs were and are a wonderful way of building our virtual school community, deepening relationships, and providing students with the opportunity to work collaboratively. The success these clubs have enjoyed validates that students can develop deep relationships in an online environment.

So, this year, we’re expanding the number of high school clubs and offering clubs for our junior high school students as well. Here’s a list of our clubs for this fall:

High School –

Debate, Creative Writing, Book Club, Music, Technology, French, Spanish, Art, Environmental Studies, and National Honor Society Forum

Junior High School –

Creative Writing, Book Club, Spanish, Art, Antarctica Expedition Environmental Club, Music, and Technology

I’ve always believed that relationship is the heart of education. We now know that our clubs are a wonderful way to create and nurture a vital, caring school that supports the interests and talents of each student. I can’t wait to see what wonderful projects will emerge from this exciting adventure, and what new clubs will be born for the spring term.

If you’re interested in your Laurel Springs student joining a club, contact our Head of Enrollment, Wendy Pilon at: wpilon@laurelsprings.com. Please come join us, this is an experience not to be missed!

Marilyn Mosley blog

Virtual Clubs, Nurturing our Learning Community

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