In pictures: Spirit Week one day at a time
April 17, 2019
Monday:
This year’s spirit week kicked off with Movie/Music Day, where students dressed up as characters from their favorite movies or wore merch from their favorite artists. The school saw costumes ranging from the iconic white-and-yellow checkered suits of Cher and Dione from Clueless to students decked head to toe in BTS merch. During long lunch, students gathered to witness members of their class compete in the regatta, where four students from each class took turns pushing each other across the pool on an inflatable pool unicorn.
Perched atop one of the unicorn floats, Ethan Hu (11) laughs in the wake of the judges’ announcement of the winners of the race. The juniors tied with the seniors after points were deducted from both classes for falling off the unicorn.
The juniors faltered in the event, losing their first place title of two years to the sophomores who won gold, followed by the freshmen. Both the juniors and seniors tied for third due to penalties for not sitting on the unicorn.
Scout McNealy (12) belly flops into the pool alongside fellow senior Zach Hoffman. The students performed their routine together.
Students and teachers alike then competed in the annual belly flop competition, this time accompanied with music of their choice. Bellyfloppers included junior class dean Karl Kuehn, biology teacher Matthew Harley, Learning, Innovation and Director of Learning, Innovation and Design Diane Main, Kai Burich (9), David Dai (9), Ray Wang (10), Nicholas Meissner (10), Vance Hirota (11), Scout McNealy (12), Zach Hoffman (12) and Matthew Hajjar (12). Matthew won with his rendition of “Part of That World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
Vance Hirota (11) dramatically scoops water in his rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic for the belly flop competition. The regatta and belly flop competition took place during lunch on Monday, Apr. 8.
Tuesday:
Spirit week continued with Time Travel Day, where students could wear clothes from different times and eras, including the future. The 90s was a particularly popular era to emulate, as well as the 60s. A highlight costume were twins William and Thomas Rainow (11), who walked into class with an electric keyboard and a boombox blasting George Michael’s “Careless Whisper.”
Tuesday was also the first installment of the class vs. class volleyball games, where the juniors squared off against the freshmen, and the sophomores competed against the seniors. Both the juniors and seniors emerged victorious in the end and would move on to compete against each other Wednesday after Roar.
Michelle Ning (10) jump serves the ball in the sophomore vs. senior volleyball game last Tuesday during lunch. The seniors ultimately won the match and would go on to square off against the juniors.
Wednesday:
For advisory dress-up day, students showed their pride by wearing creative costumes that included all members of their advisory. Roar, the newest element of spirit, is a percussive event that emphasizes rhythm without the use of instruments.
Kai Burich (9) opens the freshman class Roar, marching into the gym while playing a large wind instrument. The freshman class placed fourth in the Roar event, behind the juniors, who placed third, the sophomores, who placed second, and the seniors, who placed first.
The event took place in the gym in addition to the final junior vs. senior volleyball game which would lead up to the long-awaited faculty vs. student volleyball game. Though very close, the juniors never getting more than one point ahead of or behind their opponents, the seniors emerged victorious and moved on the face off against the teachers.
Team 2020: the juniors on the spirit volleyball team huddles, pumping each other up before their game against the seniors last Wednesday. The seniors won the match and moved on to face the faculty.
The seniors ended the assembly with a moving Roar performance filled with humor and highlighting their imminent graduation.
Thursday:
Arguably everyone’s favorite day, Meme Day, occurred on Thursday. The passing bells were changed to iconic meme songs and vines, and even the teachers got involved, including sophomore class dean Ms. Green dressing up as the Stephen Crowder “Change My Mind” meme. A group of around 20 students dressed up as iconic Harker meme sophomore Michael Eng, all decked in bright orange shirts they bought off him for $3.
Raphael Sanche (12) poses in a yellow shirt, fist placed stoically in the center of his paper picture frame in a recreation of the Arthur meme. Meme Day took place on Thursday Apr. 11.
Friday:
The day of the rally finally arrived, and the classes, blazoned in their class colors, marched into a yellow, green, black and white decoration-decked gym to face off in the biggest spirit event outside of homecoming.
The rally included a drag race, in which the seniors won, a spelling race, where students had to make a shape or a letter using their bodies and which the seniors also won, a puzzle relay with their respective class themes of earth, wind, water and fire, a sing-off between the teachers of each class where speech and debate teacher Scott Odekirk notably wowed the audience with his vocals to Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer,” and, of course, the spring rally dance.
The freshmen performed with lots of heart, even including many of the freshmen advisors in the beginning of their Moana-themed dance. The sophomores stepped it up from last year, showcasing their improvement through their teamwork and coordination. The juniors, reigning champions of the spring rally dance, once again wowed the audience out of their seats. The seniors’ dance, inspired by the cartoon Avatar the Last Airbender, included a journey through all four elements and ended the dances on a heartwarming note.
The seniors once again won spirit this year, with the juniors following in a close second, the sophomore in third and the freshmen in fourth.