Students participated in the dodgeball tournament and watched performances by Harker Dance Company and Kinetic Krew in the Athletic Center on March 24. Take a look at the sports-themed spirit activities and stay tuned for more Spirit Week coverage.

Lily Peng, Assistant News Editor: Spirit Week commenced with the “Tournament of Champions” school meeting and lunchtime competitions in the Athletic Center on Monday. The assembly opened with a dodgeball rematch between juniors and seniors, with the seniors moving to the finals. HSLT held a consolation round between juniors and the frosh, resulting in the juniors taking home third place. In the final round, seniors and sophomores faced off and the seniors emerged as dodgeball champions.

Ameera Ramzan (10): For our match that we had just this morning, we had faculty representatives who were coaches, who had whistles, who were louder and who were able to enforce the rules of dodgeball more efficiently than we were. I think spirit is a lot about community and bonding, but it can be quickly turned into a lot of competition. And we just didn’t want it to go too far. So what we did at the all school spirit rally was a lot more efficient than our first try. And that’s how it goes for most events. And in general, the matches were very tense, which is what we were aiming for, because we wanted spirit to be very exciting for the people watching it. The mood that we created, and the continuous results really helped elevate everything and allowed people to really get into the spirit of this week and of the game.

Risa Chokhawala, Assistant Opinions Editor: Dance teams Kinetic Krew (KK) and Harker Dance Company (HDC) hyped up the audience with their dance battle to the song “American Boy” by Estelle, featuring sophomore Hannah Jiang and seniors Maya Affaki, Claire Cheng, Tiana Salvi, Arthur Wu and Sonia Yu. Both dance teams also performed separate group routines to “I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos and a hip hop remix. 

Shridhar Chaware (9): I liked how we were able to show the school what we’ve been working on for the entire year because these were two competition routines that we won a couple of medals from. Honestly, performing is the best part. When we all went together and did our KK and HDC parts, those are the best. It didn’t feel super competitive, but it felt like a mix between performing for other people but also a sense of togetherness because we were doing [our performances] one after another. I really like the solos because it’s fun to see people choreograph their own little pieces and then perform them. 

Nathan Yee, Assistant STEM Editor: During lunch, members of the Conservatory and DECA competed against each other in a match of human foosball, which ended in a tie. Students showed off their spirit by dressing in sports jerseys and other forms of athletic gear, checking in with HSLT for spirit points in front of Manzanita Hall.

Naiya Daswani (12): Well, it’s my senior year, and this is my last spirit week. And so I wanted to 

be able to participate and have fun one last time with my friends. It’s also cool to see what other teams like student support. So I think it was a fun theme for sure. I think it’s just fun because we don’t get to do it often. And so if you walk around the school community and you see other people also dressed up, it just adds to the festivity and makes it more fun. 

Lily: Spirit Week will continue for the rest of the week, with the trick-shot competition on Tuesday and regatta on Wednesday. Stay tuned for our coverage.

Additional videography by Tiffany Zhu and Charlie Wang.