New Student Activity Room fosters unity throughout Conant community

A new room across from the cafeteria has become a center of bustling activity, from ping pong tournaments to “Just Dance” competitions. Officially known as the Conant Student Activity Room, this hub has been hosting events for the student body while also centralizing Conant activities.

The activity room was once the fashion classroom, but increasing student populations created a need for more educational classrooms. As a result, the school transformed the Student Council and Junior Class Council Offices into classrooms and relocated the two activities to the fashion classroom. 

Currently, the activity room is an open environment for students to connect with school activities and for clubs to combine forces.

“It’s a space where all clubs can come together to meet and brainstorm to create a vision for their production,” Student Council Adviser David Moravek said. 

Photo courtesy of Jeannette Ardell

Students compete in a game of Mario Kart.

The room has especially helped smaller clubs develop and gain recognition from the student body. Clubs have not only been collaborating on projects, but they’ve also been able to share membership. In September, during Homecoming decorations, groups were able to send some of their members to help other clubs, giving many a chance to share their objectives as a Conant club while increasing their membership. Many clubs also use the room at the same time, giving them an opportunity to share their purpose and mission as a Conant activity with other students. 

Through this centralized hub for general resources, many activities have been able to work around funding challenges. Through the activities room, clubs have access to paint, supplies, and even a Cricut machine to make custom T-shirts and stickers. 

On top of supplying resources and kindling collaboration between clubs, the activity room has been hosting weekly events on Fridays during lunch hours.

Photo courtesy of Jeannette Ardell

Students play a game of Lotería, a traditional Mexican game.

The Student Council Board has been creating ideas for these events and has partnered with clubs to execute their vision. On Oct. 7, they partnered with the Ping Pong Club to run a ping pong tournament to advertise the club’s fundraising event. On Oct. 14, they partnered with Latinos Unidos to play lotería, a traditional Mexican game similar to Bingo. The Muslim Student Association has also set up tables during lunch hours to give students henna tattoos, decorative art derived from a herb-based dye. Through these efforts, Student Council has been actively working to showcase the different communities at Conant. 

“We try to highlight the different backgrounds of the student body through our weekly ‘Fun Friday’ activities so the students from those backgrounds feel represented,” Student Council Executive Board member Annette Lee, ‘23, said.

Photo courtesy of Jeannette Ardell

Students crowd around service dogs.

While the room has supported extracurricular clubs, it also serves as a space to take a break from the demands of school. From bringing in “comfort” dogs to running UNO tournaments, Moravek hopes that students can relax and have fun while connecting with the school community. “The goal is to make this place fun,” Moravek said.

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