Each year, the HSSC organizes Spirit Week, a week in which students are encouraged to dress up according to a specific theme each day. Ultimately, the purpose of Spirit Week is to unify students by fostering school spirit, supporting the fall sports athletes, and encouraging new students and freshman to actively participate in school events.
“HSSC seeks to give students an opportunity to interact in new ways, and Spirit Week really accomplishes this objective,” said Mr. Warkentin, HSSC adviser. “Such an event really encourages the student body to spontaneously come together and accomplish bigger goals, such as learning more about each other and identifying oneself as a student belonging to the high school community.”
This year’s Spirit Week included a whole spectrum of events: Mujigae (Rainbow) Monday, Tired Tuesday, White-out Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Spirit Friday. Of the five days, Tired Tuesday and White-out Wednesday were different from the themes that introduced in last year’s Spirit Week. The two new events were met with success, with Tired Tuesday, in particular, being a favorite of many students unwilling to put special effort in dressing up. In fact, some students who were too tired to change into school-appropriate clothing in the morning simply wore their pajamas to school.
“I participated in all five days,” said Elaine Choi (11), a student who participated in Spirit Week. “I think the event was a great opportunity to have fun with friends by wearing matching outfits. In particular, I loved Tired Tuesday because my friends and I bought identical pajamas to wear. Since we cannot wear pajamas on typical school days, this experience even more special and fun.”
For White-out Wednesday, students were encouraged to pre-order white shirts for a cheaper price, which their friends and teachers could draw on. During office hours, the HSSC continued their sales of white T-shirts for those who had not pre-ordered and provided permanent markers for students at the atrium. The turnout for this day was much higher than expected, with students from all grades convening in the atrium to talk, laugh, and draw on each other’s white shirts.
“Watching people draw on each other’s shirts for White-out Wednesday was definitely my favorite part of Spirit Week,” said Yeji Kim (10), a HSSC officer. “It was fun to see the hilarious things people came up with to write and draw on their friends’ shirts. Although some of these messages got slightly out of hand, they were all written in good fun, and I think everyone enjoyed the event.”
Concluding Spirit Week was Spirit Friday, an event where students wore school colors to cheer on the volleyball teams in their home game against rival school KIS. A pep rally hosted by Tiger Sports Council was held during last period in order to further amplify the tension and excitement of game day. On this day, students wore orange and black attire to school, as well as face paint provided by the HSSC to show their Tiger spirit. In the end, Spirit Week concluded with both the varsity boys and varsity girls taking wins after hard-fought battles against the Phoenix.