Senior Spirit Week: The Last Hurrah

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Art credits to Julia Sun!

Julia Sun ‘16

Time flies! October 16, 2015 marked the end of Spirit Week for Ridge’s graduating class—to everyone’s disappointment, of course. Attempting to follow the rule of alliteration, the class of 2016 carried its unique sense of humor and energy till the end of the week, starting off the week casually with Morning Monday and Tourist Tuesday, keeping the liveliness in full swing on Wall-Street Wednesday and 70’s Thursday, and eventually tying all the spirit together into a harmonious Ridge theme on Friday. It was a bittersweet time, with both school spirit and sentimental memories creating an interesting combination.

Spirit Week creates a more involved student body and brings unity within each class. But how does wearing pajamas to school or staging a Wall Street protest help to do this?

It is the camaraderie and the memories that really make the difference between merely dressing up eccentrically and showing school spirit as a whole. High school is a time to find yourself and see that the sum of the whole is always greater than its parts. Together, the class of 2016 found that they could accomplish great things – curious, but great, things (note Harry Potter reference).

Kristie Hong ’16, a senior going hardcore on business casual and 70’s outfits, was hyped up the entire week: “Senior spirit week is our privilege. The week is so much livelier and I didn’t even have to change out of my pajamas for Monday!” As proven by this enthusiastic senior, Spirit Week is basically synonymous with feverish excitement. Unsurprisingly, Ridge becomes rife with vigor and competitiveness in displays of spirit all through the week.

Ridge’s graduating class has also changed the focus of Spirit Week so that it is more palatable to the staff, the community, and the student body. Perhaps a year or two ago, our school had a little too much spirit; students created the opposite of its intended effects of promoting positive school spirit by deviating from appropriate themes, violating dress codes, and creating tension between different grades.

As Mr. Howlett, the school principal explains, “[The] Pep Rally and Spirit Week were proposed for excitement, but due to recent incidents of impropriety, I will reconsider this activity and not allow issues to go unchecked.”

This year, although many overly enthusiastic students decided to fill the atrium with roars and cheers, the spirit was in control.

Spirit Week helps to create a positive atmosphere and brings about a feeling of togetherness among our students that cannot be done any other way. Spirit Week has existed as a tradition for high schools for years – for good reason. Students strengthen their bonds by staying connected, and the very bonds they create bring together a multicultural and diverse student body. This is one of the few times during their school year that seniors get to have fun, let loose, and experience youth. The students are not simply dressing eccentrically or trying to tear down the school; rather, they are creating their own sense of belonging and building one of their last memories of high school and their teenage years. Those qualities of Spirit Week, embraced by the school and the seniors, make the event truly worth the trouble.