How to Start a Club

Follow these simple steps to energize your school's population and start an extracurricular group.

Difficulty Level: average      Time Required: 5-6 hours

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Here's How:

1. Choose a focus for your club, based on the interests and needs of your school's population.
2. Approach the school's administration, seeking permission to begin the club.
3. Follow your site's procedures for starting a new group on campus.
4. Determine the age group that will be allowed to participate in your club.
5. Perform a simple survey to find out approximately how many students would be interested in participating.
6. If necessary, set a limit for the number of students allowed to join the club, based on the amount of adult supervision you will have.
7. Determine your club's main objective and goal.
8. Design the general format of the club's meetings.
9. Create a permission slip and/ or application for students to complete and submit.
10. Announce the club's first meeting time and location.
11. Type up an agenda for your reference, approximating duration of planned activities.
12. Incorporate student input and suggestions as appropriate.
    

Tips:

1. Don't micromanage the club's activities; allow student enthusiasm to flourish and harness this energy to further the club's goals.
2. Bring snacks to the club's first meeting and ask for volunteers to continue this practice for future meetings.
3. Some ideas for clubs include: writing, chess, books, music, art, and hobbies.
   

Related Features:

• Cool Clubs for Kids