As the days of severe quarantining and online school come to an end, San Dieguito Academy High School welcomes all students back onto campus! While many people appreciated the idea of being able to do distance learning in their pajamas, the normalcy of being at school also brings back the enjoyment of special school events that Rod Keillor and the ASB team put on. 

SDA’s Associated Student Body consists of 36 kids, 25 of whom were elected for a leadership position by the student body. The mission statement for this program is to put on activities and events that connect students to the school. However, as all students, teachers and staff members completed the majority of the 2020-2021 school year through computers, ASB had to navigate through many obstacles in order to keep the school connected during COVID-19. When asked about what the biggest challenge was with ASB last year, Keillor details, “The hardest part was figuring out what activities kids could actually do. 

Our main emphasis is bringing students together, which was hard to do through technology”. Even with the constraints of technology, ASB was able to utilize google meets, google forms, and the SDA “student life” instagram account to spread the word about school spirit and events. 

The most participated events from last year included the online chess tournament, online spirit week, and online dances. While planning school functions was a major challenge last year, the other main disappointment for Keillor was not being able to connect and see the kids. After being asked about what he is most looking forward to this year, he responds, “I am most looking forward to reconnecting to the relationships I have with the students and doing fun activities on campus!” 

This year, ASB has already put on two fantastic events, the welcome back dance and the 3v3 soccer tournament. The welcome back dance was a huge success because of the great turnout of students, professional DJ, photo booth, and shaved ice! The 3v3 soccer tournament was also super exciting as students sat on the bleachers during lunch and watched teams of three players battle the opposing team on small fields. 

ASB intends to host a variety of different events for all students to participate in this year, with some upcoming activities including the 70s disco themed Homecoming dance, SDA’s battle of the bands, skate demo, SDA Bazaar, and a ping pong tournament. These events help create the amazing and unique culture of SDA, such as how bands can perform on the outdoor stage for battle of the bands, or how the SDA bazaar is like a flea market where students can sell their creations. According to Keillor, his favorite event put on by ASB students is Exhibition Day, which will happen later in the year.

 After a year and a half of being stuck at home, Keillor and the ASB team are working hard to create a fun and entertaining environment that brings students together and creates a welcoming environment at San Dieguito Academy High School.