Over the past few weeks, the transition to distance learning has brought challenges for students and staff from social to emotional issues. The club Safe Space and Solutions serves as an outlet for all students to express their thoughts through a new means of virtual interaction.

Created in collaboration by the counselors, National Honor Society and students from Sports Leadership, the new club provides a space for all students to take a quick break from academic stresses. 

“The whole basis was to create an outlet for students to simply talk [and] ease off whatever they feel from the whole online transition,” Counselor John Tyler said. 

Since the start of the school year, many challenges have arisen across the platform, both socially and emotionally. Students, having to adjust to different and minimal one-on-one interactions, can now freely express themselves on a virtual school-wide chat. 

“We’ve spent the last five months in quarantine away from those we talked to every day, only to come back to school and still live through the same thing,” Tyler said. “We had to be creative and come up with ways to make sure [students] still feel welcome even when they’re at home.”

The social outlet also provides strategies for students to solve their problems school-related problems. Topics such as time management, balancing school life and resilience are discussed throughout each meeting. 

“The point of these topics is to discuss the best solutions,” Tyler said. “It’s not to be treated as a lecture, but rather an avenue for students to express their similar problems emotionally.”

Safe Space and Solutions was partly created after the Sept. 23 online round table conversation in which students and teachers shared their distance learning experiences. The discussion covered a variety of topics but was established through the problems regarding the social and emotional difficulties. 

Since joining the club, students have already noted the effectiveness of the interactions, stating that it serves as a temporary escape from the academic worries of online learning.

“I really liked the whole concept and idea behind [the club],” sophomore Yunus Schersei said. “It’s basically an online chat room, and in a way, it does take away my thoughts from whatever was going on in school.”

For newer students, including freshmen, the change from enrolling to a new school, let alone being entirely online, withdrew experiences normally faced in-person. The virtual interaction platform, however, served as a means of new communication opportunities as well as access to further resources.

“I never thought I’d start high school online,” freshman Ester Kim said. “It was kind of a bummer because it took away the initial experience. I like how the school is offering resources for stress relief.”

Safe Space and Solutions welcomes all students from freshmen to senior, and it meets every Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. Join with the code SafeSpaceSV and have a chat!