The summer season can be a tricky time for student groups. With students heading back home for the break, working, or generally not wanting to think about school, it can be hard for groups to keep up. Good thing SGS has all of the best tips for what to do with your student groups through the summer break!
1) Team building with your exec
To have a good executive team is to have a good student group! One of the best things you can do over the summer is switch the focus of your group to your execs. Many groups have elections in March and April, which means a new executive team unfamiliar with each other and their roles!
We recommend a fun activity (that doesn’t necessarily have to do with your club) to help with group bonding. This is a great way to see everyone relax and get to know each other in a more informal setting. We also recommend that new execs check out our executive transition handbook to better understand their new roles!
2) Keep up your group’s social media
Social media is the best way to stay in touch with your group members when they aren’t in Edmonton! There are many different platforms to use, and so many opportunities for your group to stay connected through the summer. Want to show off your executive team? Account takeovers can be a great way to see your Exec outside of your student group and what they get up to in a day.
If you’re really adventurous, why not try a new platform? A lot of groups have Facebook and Instagram pages,but it could be fun to make a few TikToks to reach your members in a new way. Summer is a great time to test out new ideas to see if your group wants to continue with them when the school year starts.
3) Goal setting
Going into the new school year with a plan for what your club wants to accomplish can make a world of difference when the school year kicks off! Summer is the perfect time for group members to discuss what they would like to do with the group and what they would like from the exec!
For the executive team, it could be useful to write out all you hope to accomplish this year and your ideas for how to accomplish it. This could be a fun idea for your team building sessions!
4) Pre-planning
When the school year starts, things pick up quickly! Clubs Fair, Week of Welcome and student group recruitment season all start within the first week of the Fall semester. Planning which events you want to host and participate in ahead of time will make things easier when the new term kicks off. Planning an event last minute often means steps get skipped and things get ignored. You are far more likely to host an impactful event if you start planning in advance. We recommend starting in August so your first few weeks go by more easily!
5) Informal meetings online
If you’re missing that normal interaction you would have with your student group before the break, hosting an informal meeting once a month is a great way to fill that void! Hosting small virtual events like games nights, trivia, or movie nights are a fun way to keep up with your members no matter where they are this summer, and remind them how great it is to be a part of the group! Better yet, online events don’t have to be a huge time commitment and have minimal prep work.