Afternoon activities at schools are mostly not mandatory, but at Cheshire Academy students have to participate in three seasons of afternoon activities. Three seasons at CA are divided as fall, winter, and spring and the activities are organized by the weather conditions. For example during fall season students can play soccer, volleyball, or they can take place in a play! If they would like to do something that’s not that exhausting as sports, they can join community service, and help the community to get better.
Students have to do two competitive activities, and these are mostly sports, but if a student is not good at sports, that student can help with theater. Some students might want to continue doing the same sport for three seasons if they are good at it. Then that student can choose to be independent, and join a club’s (that is outside of school) sport team. The activities usually take place every weekday from four to five thirty in the afternoon. Some activities don’t take place five times a week. For example dance doesn’t meet on Wednesdays, and Fridays during the spring season. The timing can be a problem for juniors and seniors that work on their college applications, but the majority of students find the activities necessary, and fun.
I agree with the statement that students should be required to participate in three season of afternoon activities. I believe that these activities can be important because they can help students to meet lots of people,and teachers, help them to manage their time more wisely, and they can help students to learn hard work and teamwork.
I believe that doing three activities is better than doing two or one activities. Every season, students are able to do different activities, and try new things. For example for fall season I played soccer. It is my first year here, and starting from the day I first came to school, we had preseason. I didn’t have any friends when I came here, but preseason helped me a lot to gain friends. I found a lot of great friends that I could hang out with on the soccer team. After a couple of days we became a family which helped me to get used to the school faster, and easier. I had so many different friends, and hearing their stories and experiences was so much fun. I have gained a lot of experiences, too. I had the chance to play in a varsity team, and see how the games are like. At schools in Turkey, there aren't afternoon activities, so I have never played in a school team before I came here. Experiencing that feeling was very different. For the winter season I played basketball, so I met new people in the basketball team. I got to know some teachers better by spending every day with them. I think that if students do a sport, since they will spend all of their time with the coaches, and their teammates, they can learn a lot of things from them—they become a family. Right now for spring season, I’m doing community service. I’m really excited because we go to a retirement center to talk to some people, and spend time with them. I think that this can be a really good experience, and I can learn a lot from them. Personally, I think that doing three activities is a great way to learn more, and meet more people.
These activities can help students with their school life, too. School’s schedule starts with classes in the morning, and continues with afternoon activities, then ends with activities that are after dinner such as some clubs. Doing the afternoon activities can help the students to manage their times during the school year. In my opinion, these activities also prepares students for their future lives. Because in the future, managing time will be important, since after getting a job students will have a lot of responsibilities. During my first two seasons, I have done sports. Everyday exercise that I had to do during these activities changed my eating habit. I started to eat healthier, and I started thinking more positively. Sports helped me to have a healthier mind which made my school grades get better. I asked some of my friends from the soccer team about how they feel about playing three different sports. They told me that they find it so much fun, because they get to exercise every day, so it helps them with their health. That’s why these activities can help students with their school life by making them healthier, or by helping them to manage their time more wisely.
A majority of these activities aims to teach students teamwork, hard work, and patience. If students are doing theater or sports they can learn about teamwork. During the time I spent playing soccer, and basketball, I watched my teammates’ relationships with other people on the team. For example during soccer whenever someone would miss a shot, nobody would let that person feel bad because she missed the shot. We would all say that we all could have played better. When I started playing soccer I wasn’t as good as other players on the team, so during the first couple of games I wouldn’t play, but I would watch them, and learn their tricks. In a couple of weeks, I got so much better, and I started playing in every game. That taught me to be patient in anything I do, and I learned that with hard work, I can always get better. I think that these activities are important in order to teach students hard work, and teamwork.
Students can gain new experiences and new friends throughout all three seasons. The difference of activities would not make them feel bored, and would help them meet new people every season. These activities can be good for their personal, and school lives by making them more hard working, and teaching them to be patient. These activities can help students with their future lives as much as they can help them with their school lives.
