Grace Spirit Week 2021: Are Spirits High After All-Time Low?
High School Cheer team gather outside 46 Cooper Sq. Media provided by Gazette Media Staff.
After a year devoid of school spirit, togetherness, and schoolwide events, Grace’s spirit week is back in full swing. The week has conjured up excitement from both faculty and students as the eventful seven days have been revived after the pandemic.
But has spirit week really changed since 2019? Or has online school depleted Grace’s griffin spirit?
The week began with tie dye day. Many students participated, exhibiting their brightly colored outfits with pride. Lina M. ‘24 exclaimed, “I felt like it was a great way to show school spirit for the students who dressed up.”
Grace Gazette staff on Rainbow Day. Media provided by Gazette Media Staff.
Similarly to the most recent spirit week in 2019, there was a range of engagement: some donned head-to-toe themed attire and others completely forgoed dressing up.
As Jasmeily A. ‘22 said in a 2019 Gazette article, “I’m all about school spirit, I just think people in this school are too lazy to dress up, and they don’t have the motivation to actually do it.”
Is this still the case? This year, Brewer W. ‘24 said, “Honestly I just didn’t really feel like it. I didn’t have the right clothing for each day, and I felt like buying clothes just to wear for one day would be pointless.”
Many other students expressed their resentment towards dressing up; possibly because it seemed to require too much effort, or maybe due to the fact that for some, it meant having to buy clothes on short notice.
Despite the somewhat limited participation, the homecoming games seemed to raise students’ spirits significantly. Athletes from various grades expressed their excitement towards the exhilarating events surrounding the sports’ teams at Grace this past Friday, with Finn H. 25 exclaiming, “The homecoming games were so much fun. They were by far the best part of spirit week, and people came all the way to our games just to show support.”
The bleachers were packed with students supporting the girl’s Varsity Volleyball game, with organized cheers echoing throughout the gym. “The homecoming game was so fun,” said Altea P. ‘23. “We had face paint, glitter, support, and, overall, it was really festive. It was a great way to end the season.”
All Grace sports teams ended up winning their homecoming games, which demonstrates the importance and power of participating and leaning into school spirit events.
Sophomore students on PJ day. Media provided by Gazette Media Staff.
The pep rally was also full of spirit and enthusiasm this year. Each sports excitedly ran to the center of the gym, chanting various cheers with great fervor. The cheer team’s dances were upbeat and got all students, even the middle schoolers present, ready to cheer for Grace.
Mbene T. ‘25 asserted, “It was my first time at a pep rally so I didn’t know what to expect. But it was so fun. I was on the volleyball team, and seeing people cheer for my teammates, and I with some people not even knowing us, made me feel so connected to Grace and the people here.”
The lively environment and unity within the pep rally seemed to have sparked a new connection between students and Grace as a whole.
Willa B. 23’ said, “I felt like the pep rally was a great way to connect to my peers at Grace; especially the underclassmen. In the past year, because of hybrid learning and cohort schedules, it became difficult to get to know people in the grades below. But events like the pep rally made creating new friendships with people I had never really met fun and exciting.” In general, this year’s spirit week has stayed relatively the same in regards to themed outfit days, but has improved immensely in the support for Grace’s athletic teams. As a school, spirit is evidently an extremely important aspect in creating a sense of community and unity.
While spirit week and individualized spirit has yet to gain traction within the student body, it seems that the Grace spirit really shines through when students recognize that supporting their peers, even people they have never met before, is important for a successful sports season.