Published: August 05, 2009 10:29 pm      

Seniors have options of choosing non-academic classes

DUNCAN — When it comes to school, the learning process goes beyond textbooks and lectures.

This is where extracurricular activities come into play. Extracurriculars are any activities that have student involvement outside of the classroom. This does include some classes, like band and football, but it also includes school clubs and organizations.

Duncan High School seniors Jade Thompson, Mickey Peercy and Adam Jech have all been involved in multiple extracurricular activities since they’ve been in high school.

“It’s kind of relaxing from school work,” Peercy said.

“It’s fun to do stuff with your teammates.”

As time has progressed and other things have demanded their time, the students have gotten choosier about which activities they’re involved in.

For instance, Thompson had been involved in both band and basketball. Now, she’s involved only in band at school and church activities outside of school.

“I was in basketball, but quit because of band,” Thompson said. “Basketball asked for a lot of time. And band asked for a lot of time.

“Band was most important.”

Peercy and Jech are both members of the soccer team and the band, but they have also taken part in football and basketball.

They said extracurricular activities can become balancing acts, but also rewarding experiences.

They said they chose soccer and band over other activities because they found them to be more enjoyable. They also found those extracurriculars to be easier during the same school year.

Both said they chose band because they grew up in the program. While their parents might have given them the initial push into the activity, they said they have found much enjoyment through band.

“We were both pretty much raised in band,” Peercy said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.

“It’s a lot of fun.”

Regardless of the challenges the students faced with balancing their extracurricular activities, they said they did it because they were having a good time doing it. It might mean extra work, but in the end, it’s worth it. “We focused on what was the most fun for us,” Peercy said.