![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
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Students participate in first spirit rally of school year
The sophomores show their spirit by cheering on their class. Students engaged in numerous activities including watching performances, participating in tug-of-war and performing their class skits.
November 4, 2016
The seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen gathered on Davis Field for the first spirit rally of the 2016-2017 school year to participate in a variety of contests and to bond with their peers at today’s event, which marks the conclusion of Spirit Week.
While the juniors, sophomores and freshmen began the rally by cheering for their own classes while standing on the field, the seniors decided to gather at all four corners of Davis and ran onto the field, chanting “2017!” as they waved their flag.
Assistant to the Directors of the Activities and Business & Entrepreneurship Programs Eric Kallbrier then shared the results of the activities Spirit Club hosted throughout the week leading up to the rally, announcing the juniors as the winners of the float parade and honoring the sophomores with the award of “Best Eagle.”
The cheerleaders performed a routine to a mix of various pop songs, followed by the freshman skit, which was based on the Time Warner sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” The freshmen and juniors then faced off in the first tug-of-war contest of the rally, and the juniors emerged victorious.
The sophomores presented their “Little Einsteins” skit next, with math teacher Jane Keller and chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine as Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh” and the White Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland,” respectively.
The homecoming court relay race took place halfway through the rally. Each class’ elected homecoming couple participated in a series of challenges to advance to the next checkpoints of the race. Activities included leapfrogging, tossing footballs into buckets and riding a bouncy ball. The seniors won the relay, with the sophomores coming in last.
“Doing the homecoming court race, you get a lot more into it, more spirited about it—more so than if you were just watching it,” homecoming prince Ryan Vaughan (12) said. “It was fun and different, and the rally was different knowing it was my last homecoming.”
As part of their preparations for the rally, members of Spirit Club conducted a test run of the obstacle course to ensure that the relay was doable and functioning.
“This year, a lot of different people [had] creative control over the activities,” Kallbrier said. “One of the ways we [prepared] for this [was] our team [ran] through the relay and [practiced] it to see what could be done better.”
The varsity dance team performed after the relay, and their routine was followed by the junior skit. Their performance revolved around Nickelodeon’s “Spongebob Squarepants” and featured junior class dean Victor Adler and U.S. History teacher Julie Wheeler as Team Rocket’s James and Jessie, respectively. The sketch, the soundtrack of which included various songs from Kanye West’s album “The Life of Pablo,” concluded when junior Dolan Dworak, donned in a crown and a purple cape, was raised on a throne and showered his class with fake hundred “Dolan” bills with his face printed on them.
“I enjoyed all of the skits, but now that I’ve realized what the skits are actually like, I realized that the freshman skit wasn’t as good as the other skits,” freshman David Fang said. “I really enjoyed the juniors’ skit because they were really creative with their ideas and they included all of the other classes as well, and I thought that was very nice.”
After the juniors’ performance, the second tug-of-war competition of the rally took place, pitting the sophomores and the seniors against each other. Although the class of 2019 advanced to the tug-of-war finals last year, they lost to the seniors this year.
“I was really nervous because I don’t usually do this kind of stuff, but it was really fun and I felt that we [put forth] a good effort,” tug-of-war participant Lily Wancewicz (10) said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow because I think that we’ll have a much better chance against the freshmen.”
To conclude the spirit rally, the seniors delivered their skit, which incorporated characters from the Cartoon Network animations “Johnny Bravo,” “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Pokemon.” The performance also included a lighthearted mockery of the other classes and ended with the seniors crowding onto Davis and collapsing together on the field.
Today’s event concludes a week of celebration of school spirit and serves as a kickoff for the varsity football team’s homecoming game against Stellar Prep, which will take place tomorrow from 7 to 9 p.m. on Davis Field.
