Spirit Around School
School spirit is an essential ingredient to a positive high school experience. Many people around school say that “Grace has no spirit and that can’t change.” However, Grace is a relatively young high school with only two graduating classes. In order for it to thrive, school spirit needs to be integrated into the culture and life of the school and that takes time.
Daniel Samoon, a current 10th grader said about school spirit, “No one screams Grace! Or has any excitement when thinking about the school as a whole.”
When I asked Michelle Carpenter, the current 10th grade dean, about her opinion on the school spirit at Grace, she responded: “I like it, but it isn’t representative of the student body as a whole. Students like the idea of spirit, and I know the spirit is felt but it isn’t always visible. I see people wearing sweatshirts and going to games, but that only says so much.”
Currently, we only show our spirit through small gestures, such as wearing sweatshirts, and sometimes going to sporting events, but there is a greater way to show spirit. We all should embrace our school and feel proud to go here. That is why I then asked fellow students their opinions on new ways to enhance the spirit.
Davis Colley, a current 12th grader stated, “No one comes to our varsity soccer games, to support. We should get a fan bus or something, fans could leave school early with the team. We also need spirit week and a homecoming, sporting events taking place there too, Avenues needs to be there, because of our huge rivalry.”
Katy Arons, a current 10th grader, and part of the Cheer Team, had some ideas as well: “Cheering is trying to amp-up and spirit and is thinking of new ideas. A healthy rivalry could be good, maybe Avenues? We’ve been talking and homecoming should be coming next year.”
Is it possible to solve this issue in a day? Well, no. As Jake Dewees, a current 11th grader, states: “We don’t solve the problem, we just make it less obvious.” Everyone has his or her own opinion on how to solve our school’s problem with spirit, but there is a solution. Unfortunately, culture needs to be built over an extended period of time, so this task will require the help of everyone at Grace. To start this spirit movement, people need to start coming to home sports games, being more positive when thinking about the school in general, requesting more of the school, like wanting a homecoming and spirit week, and much more. As a school, we need to come together, put all other opinions and judgments aside and join forces to make it known that Grace is a great community and is also a family. Grace is a happy place with lots to offer, so let’s make that known to all of New York City. Let’s go Gremlins!!!!