Why and how Spirit Week should happen this year

Opinion of Noelle Avena

Fun is of premier i m p o r t a n c e when it comes to harboring a healthy and useful high school e n v i r o n m e n t . This time last year, we enjoyed Spirit Week, Homecoming, fall sports wrapping up, the
last pasta parties of the season, pep rallies, competition, and Halloween festivities to lift our spirits. Now, when we need that boost more than ever before, there is a void. When students aren’t able to have fun
through school-led activities, they will inevitably start looking to out of school gatherings for ways to spend time with their friends and maintain a degree of normalcy. This is a huge health risk, but expecting students to continue without activities is unsustainable. We must find solutions. The concept may sound overly simplistic, but having a Spirit Week will promote what students are in need of: creativity, overall energy, productivity, and a mood boost.

Dress up days would be separate for the
cohorts, so no one misses out. Then comes the
issue of competition between the classes. Not
only would this be complicated to tally and
execute, but it would also encourage division
at a time when unity is already scarce. There
could be competition between the cohorts, or
none at all.
In replacement of pep rallies, teachers
could run their activities within their small
classes. They wouldn’t have to be anything
dramatic, maybe a Kahoot at the end of
class or a quick project. The activities can be
subject related or whatever teachers see fitting
appropriately into their individual plans.
The important part is showing students that
teachers care and want to develop a classroom
bond, which is weaker than usual this year.
Teachers— plan outdoor activities with
your students, even brief ones. Fresh air
and movement in the Era of Zoom are vital.

Though it can be argued that exercising in masks is tiring and uncomfortable, students can remove their masks and have a break from them when outside and six feet apart.

There’s no health risk with dressing
up, but there is with taking photos. If it
was communicated to students that taking
photos outside is not to happen this year, I
have confidence that safety protocols will
be respected. Though there have been issues
with safety and behavior during Spirit Week
in the past, it’s clear that the general mindset
of the student body is dramatically changed
from what it was in other years over the past
months. Every student will be grateful, simply
for the opportunity to have Spirit Week.
If school can be safely held in the hybrid
model, the same effort should be put into
planning supplementary activities for the
students. Each activity planned would have
to be examined tediously to ensure complete
safety. But instead of feeling defeated by
events that can’t happen this year, we can
create a completely unique pandemic-style
Spirit Week that can be a small step in the
right direction of promoting well-managed
and supervised student activities.