The Catty Shack is a staple of the school, providing a place for students to purchase food, drinks, and spirit wear everyday to support the business wing of the school. Due to the ensuing pandemic, the Catty Shack faced unique challenges this year which resulted in it opening up for the first time two months after school started.

Catty Shack Sponsor Dinana Heffernon stated that there were some bumps that students encountered along the way when opening the Catty Shack such as acquiring the same items to sell that they’ve had available to buy in previous years.

“[We have been] unable to get a lot of the food items because corporations have cut back on production,” Heffernon said. “[Also] not having a seminar for the staff to prepare to open has been a challenge.”

Since the in-person students are doing the hybrid schedule the Catty Shack staff members were unsure whether or not they were even going to be able to open the store this school year. With the amount of restrictions already placed upon students this year, some logistical challenges arose. Catty Shack staff member Nicole Crist states that it is very hard to schedule and communicate with other members of the staff this year. 

“It is difficult to know what needs to get done,” Crist said. [It’s also] challenging to know what has been accomplished.” 

With the virus, the Catty Shack staff has been very careful to wear masks and constantly wash their hands. According to Johnathan Atchley, the Catty Shack staff has been working closely with principal Gail Holder and the school administration to ensure who decides to purchase items from the school store this year is safe. 

“[Administration precautions] means masks are worn at all times, hands are washed often, and we are social distancing as much as possible” Atchley said.

Aside from the regulations, the Catty Shack seems to be a student favorite despite the late opening this year. The later than usual opening means the school store has seen a decline in sales this year.

“We have seen a decrease in sales from our brick and mortar store since we haven’t been able to be open that long and will soon have to close” Crist said. 

With school going fully remote, the Catty Shack’s physical store will have to shut down. Though the staff will not be able to sell anything in person for a while the online school store will still be available for students, faculty and members of the community to shop at.

Despite not being able to sell items in-person for the month of May, Atchley is confident that “The school store has experienced an increase in online sales over the summer and during the beginning of the school year” Atchley said. 

The online store has been very popular this year partially because many students who choose to attend school remotely can order merchandise online instead of from the Catty Shack in-person. 

The Catty Shack has added some new merchandise this year, some of which include Christmas ornaments and new spirit wear. 

If You would like to check out the Catty Shack and the merchandise that is available for purchase you can do so here: www.mvhighschool.itemorder.com