Spirit Week--Journal #6
NOTE: Many of the ideas, much of the same language, was posted last year after Spirit Week. I have edited the entry to reflect some slight changes in my attitude that took place as a result of some excellent student responses to my blog last year. Here goes the 2006 edition:
I have to admit that I don't get much of Spirit Week. I'm don't understand how dressing up like Sesame Street characters or Bourbon Street revelers translates into school spirit. I'm likewised confused about some of the other Spirit Week traditions into which students pour lots of time, effort, and money during the week. Before I write another line, I will also be first to admit that I represent the vast minority opinion. Probably 98% of the student body (the other 2% populate the top part of the gym bleachers during school assemblies) would disagree with me. So would most teachers. Ones who have spirit, anyway. I know that I'm one of the few who doesn't get it, even though I think I have lots of Spartan pride.
When I heard the theme for this year's celebration, I was momentarily excited: Not Another Spartan Homecoming. Hmm. Did someone really listen to me last year? No. This year's multi-theme approach commemorating past Spartan homecomings confuses the issue even more.
Hopefully protected by my admission of ignorance, here goes my rhetorical rant that will go no further than this blog. Not that I could change anything anyway. This Week is way bigger than me or anyone else, for that matter. The genie is out of the bottle.
First--why does Spirit Week need a theme other than rooting for good ol' St. Mark's? How's this for a new theme? St.Mark's School Spirit. I know how creative and talented our students are. Even with so "limited" a theme, I'm completely confident that our students would outdo themselves coming up with novel ideas year after year, all in celebration of St. Mark's. I'd like to see this Spirit Week spent in the education, honoring, and cheering of St. Mark's history, tradition, and ongoing commitment to excellence.
Instead of singing Disney and Guns and Roses songs, how about some Spartan sing-alongs? Well, we COULD have two official songs: our alma mater and a St. Mark's fight song.
That's right, a real St. Mark's Fight Song. Students should WANT one. College and professional athletic fight songs are immensely popular today. Fly, Eagles, fly. Hail to the Victors. Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame. Our Pep Rally could begin with a rousing Spartan Fight Song, with the St. Mark's band cranking it up, the cheerleadings leading the singing, the dance team in step on the floor. Then during the football game, with every victory or score, the band, cheerleaders, and fans could launch into OUR very own fight song. If I were a student who had an ounce of musical talent, I'd be writing OUR fight song right now and passing out the lyrics and sheet music as soon as I could. Talk about starting a St. Mark's tradition. Then this would really be NOT just another Spartan homecoming.
What about ending our Pep Rally with the St. Mark's Alma Mater, a more, proud, dignified rendition of OUR school song? Go to a college football game. Watch 100,000 rabid Penn State fans grow serious as the first strains of their alma mater are heard. They're Penn State Proud. Before you students graduate, my hope is that all of you will realize the special significance of attending St. Mark's when you sing words like, "Winds of time whisper on, now the foundation's laid strong" and "Friendships remain as a sign that we are linked to St. Mark's through time."
Sure, we can keep special dress-up days. But Pajama Day? New York Day? Huh? I want St. Mark's Color Days, every day, wearing the Green and Gold, throughout the week and to the all of the athletic events throughout the week. Wear your Green and Gold team uniform, club shirt, band hoodie, whatever. As long as it's Green and Gold.
The Beach Boys song, Be True to Your School, remains an anthem to high school spirit. Here's your homework assignment-- go find a copy of the song and play it five times. I guarantee it will get you singing along, maybe transporting you back to a more innocent, fun time when it was just plain cool to be proud of your school. You didn't need to masquerade behind Mardi Gras masks, either. If you're singing along by the fifth time, reconsider what I've had to say.
So be true to your school now / Just like you would to your girl or guy / Be true to your school now / And let your colors fly / Be true to your school
P.S. I give credit where it's due. Even though I'm out of the loop, I have to agree that there the Pep Rally is full of unbelievable spirit, excitement, and talent. And my seniors have told me that the class competitions generate great class spirit. I know, so why all the fuss?
posted by JTF @ 4:13 PM
46 comments
46 Comments:
All the fuss for spirit week is for that spirit stick Mr. Fiorelli. All the classes want to out do each other for that stick and to show their support for their class. This week on monday you saw most of us, sophomores in our jeans to tuesday in our pjs. We do this to boost up our points at the end when the clas with the most school spirit is annonced as well as for the spirit stick. The competition fuels the spirit inside us to beat each class, to show which class has more Spartan pride. You will see on friday all of us sophomores with writing on our faces with class of '09 or sophs. It shows that we love our class and are ready for the pep rally to give it our all and our best to out do the rest. Spirit week in my opinion is a way for myself to be more relaxed in school, to have a little fun, and to just get ready for homecoming. I agree though with you on one point that we should have a fight song, the song would be a great way to start off the pep rally so everyone is in the spirit of the Spartans. It would be a kool way to make all of us come together as a school before we break off into our own classes against each other. In other words spirit week is a way to express ourselves with our class backing us up all the way.
Spirit week is one of the few times during the year where we get to show off the school spirit. We all buy the shirt and were that during the week and do other strange things to show our spirit. I am not really sure how wearing our pajamas shows school spirit though because most of them had nothing to do with the school. At the pep rally at the end of the week we show our spirit by cheering wildly, singing class songs, all for the chance to win the spirit stick even though the seniors end up winning it every year.The pep rally is also a chance for us to show our support for the football team, so that they win the big homecoming game. I do think that your idea about the fight song is pretty cool though and we do have an alma mater I just don't think many people know it. I also think that spirit week is very energenic and is good for us to have a change in our uniform instead of wearing the shirt and tie every day. Even though some of the spirit week activities are silly they are a great way to show our school spirit and a good chance to have some extra excitement during school.
Adam
At first, I thought the whole idea of spirit week was unnecessary. I mean come on; do students really need to dress up in outrageous colors and outfits in order to get psyched about a school game? But then I began to realize, hey, this is actually a pretty good idea! For every single student from grades 9-12 to wear an ensemble consisting of the school colors green, gold, gray, and black persuaded people to support their school. Students who wouldn’t normally root for a sports team seemed more excited about their high school’s football game then they would have been in the past.
Once I entered the school building on Pep Rally day I knew this school was more than proud to be named the Home of the Spartans. It seemed as if the whole entire building was draped in a great deal of not only the school colors, but also with decorative colors of each grades theme. The freshman’s theme was an edible delight due to its name Candy Land, sophomores (which happened to be my class!) We’re not in Kansas anymore, with the Wizard of Oz theme, the juniors dove in to their theme Under the Sea, and the seniors saved the day as Superheroes.
As soon as our class was called down to the gymnasium, I could feel all the adrenaline rushing through my body at the thought of the feelings of euphoria that were about to come. But out of all that confusion and fun, the most exciting part began when I entered the gym at around 12:57. All that could be heard were the sounds of cheering students and blaring music (which caused kids to be hard of hearing even to those standing directly beside them!) I spotted a few friends and maneuvered myself through the gigantic crowd of rambunctious students. At that moment I had a more detailed insight as to what St. Mark’s Spirit Week was all about: Showing your spirit for the school you love, by expressing how you fell through your clothes and not holding anything back once you enter those gymnasium doors.
there was a typeo on this sentence: Showing your spirit for the school you love, by expressing how you feel through your clothes and not holding anything back once you enter those gymnasium doors.
You've made some pretty good arguments here, Mr. Fiorelli. It does seem the students tend to forget that the whole purpose of Spirit Week is to show school spirit. This showing of spirit usually ends up seeming more like dressing up in rediculous colors and mocking the other class' themes. Perhaps Class Spirit is really what this week is all about. The number of "SENIORS 06!!!"-related posters clearly outweighs that of the "Go Spartans!" posters the walls of our school. It is commonly argued that the classes are merely competing with one another to show which has the most spirit. However, the tearing-down of other class' posters is an obvious counterexample to this theory. Furthermore, are green and gold Spirit Week t-shirts primarily bought to show Spartan spirit, or to get out of wearing that gosh darn uniform?
I think you've got some pretty groovy ideas here to help turn Spirit Week into what it should be, but it is unlikely that these changes will ever take place (or at least not anytime soon). Even if what goes on seems frutile, and the so-called "spirit" is misguided, it is still a week of fun and creativity. So as long as it stays that way, and there is no loss of life or limb, why not let sleeping dogs lie?
This is definitly one of the tougher journal assignments. In some ways, I feel that Spirit Week is a much needed relapse from the uniforms that we wear all year long. But some of the ideas that they have for some of the days make no sense at all. Take last year's spirit week. They had traffic light day. Traffic light day? I think that we need traffic lights for some of the traffic jams on the steps ofthe school. But giving out points for wearing a red, yellow, or green shirt is just ridiculous.
In other ways, isn't Spirit week about Spartan pride, not just '09 being fine or '08 being great. I think that instead of seeing which class is the loudest or the most spirited, we should see how many students actually have "Spartan Pride."
I also think that we should do away with the spirit stick. I don't think that we should get rid of the pep rally altogether, I just feel that saying that one class is more spirited than another is just plain stupid. Take this year's pep rally. Everyone and their mother knew that the juniors had way much more spirit than the seniors, but does that really matter. Our fall sports teams are all playing well, so shouldn't we celebrate that instead. I think the main focus of the pep rally should be to get the football team and the field hockey team and the soccer team ready to make their way to the playoffs.
Spirit week is a wonderful time to show school spirit and take pride in St. Mark's. While I think that spirit week is a wonderful time full of fun and excitement, it sometimes seems that students do forget what it's really all about. When I transferred to St Mark's this year, I became excited to hear that many students participate in spirit week and have a pep rally, because at my old school spirit week and pep rally were non existant. So this was all new to me and it was a huge experience. All the fuss during spirit week is really just a huge competition in order to win the spirit stick and to see which class has the most spartan pride and spirit. It's an entire week dedicated to preparing for homecoming.The competition between classes allows each class to be as spirited as possible. It provides the students with spirit, energy and excitement for the pep rally at the end of the week.Spirit week is a very exciting time to just be relaxed and have fun. We students try to participate and have as much as much as possible, in order to make each year as memorable as possible. Spirit week shows our pride for St. Mark's and it makes an entire week of school fun and exciting. It's a lot of fun to see the entire school participating and dressing up just to represent our school.
Well Mr. Fiorelli, you have made some very good points about spirit week, but i completely disagree with you. Yes, we should be showing school spirit in different ways, like singing our school songs or something like that, but it's much more exciting when you have a theme and have to go along with your theme and dress up. Our theme was the Wizard of Oz, which i thought was awesome. And taking a song and making a remix about our class or school is much more creative and exciting ! It's always fun to be creative and do your own thing instead of singing the school song every year. You have to switch it up. I think it's a great idea of having spirit week because it gives the students a chance to get out of our uniforms and just relax and have a good time. I'm not sure why we would have an "I love New York" day, but oh well. Wearing our pajamas doesn't really show school spirit either, but it let's us relax and be original. During spirit week, we show our spirit through all our originality in our costumes, jewelry, face paintings,etc.. This gets us super excited for friday, when our class gets called to the gym for the pep rally ! Walking down to the gym and hearing everyone screaming and being so excited shows how much spartan spirit we truly have. The pep rally is always amazing. It helps us get the football players ready for their big game !! And even when we are too excited and screaming, when it comes down to the whole gym praying together, it is completely silent. I think that also shows our school spirit because we know when to be quiet and we pray as a school. All the fuss about spirit week, is just for that one class to be announced that they have won the SPIRIT STICK! Even if our class doesn't win and the seniors win[like usual], we don't really get bummed, its just the fact that we have done our best to show school spirit and it's the best week of school !
Mr. Fiorelli Im supprised to hear as a teacher you dontt understand the meanig of Spirit Week. Its about all the students in a class coming together for one cause. To show the most school spirit and be the winners of the ever coveted Spirit Stick. Its also about showing spirit and pride at the fact that you go to St. Marks. So your not just showing spirit for your class but for the school in general. On one point I do agree with you that dress-up days like "I love New York Day" and "Accessorie Day" just don't make much sense to me; because how does having the best New York shirt or the coolest accessorie show that you have the most school spirit. Also, I think that writing a fight song would be a great idea because not only would it be pretty cool but whenever we would score or win a game the other team would see how much spirit those St. Marks kids really have. Also I went on to Itunes and looked up the song "Be true to your school" and it wasn't all you made it cracked up to be.
As I said, I know my opinions are definitely in the minority. I'm suggesting positive changes to the Spirit Week to promote more School Spirit, not just class unity.
Some last comments:
1. It IS special and a sign of school spirit, maybe even the Holy Spirit, that we can get perfectly quiet and pray as we do. Amazing.
2. Even if I don't understand how this all translates to School Spirit, if you do, then that's great!
3. All things musical and melodic for your generation is lost if you can't groove to Be True to Your School.
Thanks for sharing.
Spirit week is a big thing at St. Mark's. Each class trying to overcome the others to win the spirit trophy and the spirit stick. The class of '09, I thought, did a very good job druing the week and at the pep rally. But the judges didn't understand what we meant by the things we did. At the end, we got disqualified for "booing," making a sign with our hands that meant diamonds in the sky by Kenye West that the sophmores shine brighter, and because our music ran too long. This doesnt make sense. Everyone was booing, the judges thought we meant something else by our hand signals when it really didnt, and it wasnt our fault that the music ran too long, the DJ didnt turn it off when we were done. Spirit week was fun but got everyone messed up. The sophmores definitely out sounded the freshmen and the juniors but we got in trouble for things that we didnt need to get into trouble for. Saturday night was an exciting night for everyone. We got to calm down and try to forget about that friday. Most of the girls' dresses were gorgeous and the guys looked very nice. Homecoming is always the best night of spirit week especially when it starts out with an exetremely great win over St. Elizabeth. Everyone enjoys going to Homecoming and spending time with friends or their dates. I believe that everyone would agree with me that the homecoming dance is the best dance of the year besides prom and soph-semi. LETS GO SPARTANS!!!
I'm with you one hundred percent, Mr. Fiorelli. Why does everyone have to go psycho over a football game and a dance that is almost identical to every other dance other than the fact that you have to spend three hundred to four hundred dollars to go? I don't mind the stuff like pajama day and jeans day, but I think the pep rally is going a bit too far. Screaming nonstop for an hour and a half is not my idea of fun and I have no idea how it is supposed to convey school spirit (I did enjoy the drumline, though. Band forever!). I think the whole thing is a waste of time, but that's just me. I'd rather be in class doing more work so I don't have to do it over the weekend. As far as Homecoming goes, I have never understood the signifigance of either the game or the dance. I go to the game because I'm in Color Guard, but I think that the dance is an excuse to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress or tux that you'll only wear once, then end up sitting at a table in the corner for four hours. I was perfectly happy with spending the night at the mall instead of going to the Homecoming dance.
Gah! Forget I posted! I wasn't finished and hit the wrong button. Sorry, Mr. Fiorelli....
I'm with you one hundred percent, Mr. Fiorelli. Why does everyone have to go psycho over a football game and a dance that is almost identical to every other dance other than the fact that you have to spend three hundred to four hundred dollars to go? I don't mind the stuff like pajama day and jeans day, but I think the pep rally is going a bit too far. Screaming nonstop for an hour and a half is not my idea of fun and I have no idea how it is supposed to convey school spirit (I did enjoy the drumline, though. Band forever!). I think the whole thing is a waste of time, but that's just me. I'd rather be in class doing more work so I don't have to do it over the weekend. As far as Homecoming goes, I have never understood the signifigance of either the game or the dance. I go to the game because I'm in Color Guard, but I think that the dance is an excuse to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress or tux that you'll only wear once, then end up sitting at a table in the corner for four hours. I was perfectly happy with spending the night at the mall instead of going to the Homecoming dance. There are so many other way to show school spirit other than embarassing ourselves over a period of one week. Coming to the football games is one of them. (Hint hint.) However I look at it, I don't get the whole idea of Spirit Week. I'll participate, sure, but if someone could explain the purpose of it to me, I would be grateful.
Moonyasha,
Continue to feel free to post your comments, but remember that I didn't knock the dance or the football game. I'm a big football game fan, not just for the football, but also because of the school spirit it seems to develop, like with the cheerleaders, fans,and the band.
Mr. FIorelli, I agree with you on some issues but to be realistic, no "cool" student would be caught dead singing the st. marks fight song. Why? I dont know, but I would love it. If you think about it, 95% of SMH students wear some sort of SMH clothing or gear or team hoodie out in public. Students are proud to go to St. Mark's. I remember when I was in middle school, I couldn't wait to go to SMH. I was so proud to own a sweatshirt from there that my sister bought for me when she first started. I remeber going to St. Mark's as a "rent-a-kid" on the Pep Rally day and it was exciting. I couldn't wait to be a part of it. I thought going in to spirit week my freshman year it would be fun and relaxed and the teachers would go easy on us. I was wrong about that. This year i had 3 tests during spirit week and ended up getting a detention. I heard of other kids getting in trouble during spirit week also. Its almost as if (not to offend you) the teachers try to extra strict with the rules. I'm saying let the kids run wild but let the kids have a week of fun. THe spirit week would be the hour of the pepe rally times 8 hours a day for 5 days. That sounds like a week of school for me. It would definately get people fired up with SMH spirit and ready for the football game.
P.S. How about some new homecoming themes? it seems like they have run out
Although you did make some good points in your post, I am going to have to be in the 98% that disagrees with you. I think spirit week is possibly the best week of school during the year. If gives students a chance to express themselves and show a little more personality. The point of having different days is so spirit week doesn't get boring. If we wore green and gold each day by Wednesday it would all look the same, and then why not just wear the school uniform? Spirit Week is a lot of fun just because students get to be a little different. If I may remind you, we do have a St. Mark's day where we do wear jerseys, hoodies, and shirts all pertaining to St.Mark's. It is even on our biggest day, Friday, the day of the pep rally. If we sang only a fight song and our alma mater we would all be the same, and our individuality, which we only have for a little time anyway, would be taken away. Having each class sing their own song gives each class to show their creativity, individuality, and spirit. What I don't understand about your post is your reference to the song "Be True to Your School" because its seems as if your saying by wear pjs and things besides school clothes we are not being true to our school. I think the exact opposite. I know that people that are not really involved in school show the most spirit and actually seem to enjoy school for a week. I can see some of your points, but again, I think Spirit week is one of the best times at St.Mark's and we should keep it the way we have it.
Spirit Week is a time when everyone at St. Mark's gets together for one week as a united school. By that I mean cliques break up and everybody revels in all of the school spirit. The best day is Friday because everyone comes in just looking crazy. Even people who hate school and things like football and dances dress up in the school colors and paint faces and hair. Some people are just like "this is stupid what is the point of this week." I personally saw a lot more of that bad attitude in freshman year. This year everybody had fun. As the week goes on, you can feel the excitement in the air and then Friday comes. Friday is one of the easiest days of the year; the teachers are just as excited as the students. Most teachers are lax that day and would rather show a movie than teach a class. At the pep rally itself everyone has a good time, this year we were disqualified, but we still all had fun singing our songs and watching all the other demonstrations. When we lost, you could tell how disappointed every sophomore in the gym was. You could see it on faces, and hear audible sighs. To go onto the main question, the themes have nothing to do with school spirit, but participating is fun and the week is just to get people excited for the upcoming weekend. Even though The Wizard of Oz has nothing to do with St. Mark’s it is funny to see people wrapped in tin foil and wearing tin foil hats. Spirit Week is good to have because it is almost like a small holiday in the school time where fun is actually permitted.
Spirit week is crazy, out of control, and disliked by many teachers because “classes get out of hand”, but that is the point of spirit week. We are allowed to stretch the rules, not wear the uncomfortable uniforms. Pajama and accessory day do not fit in at all, but they are fun and allow us to wear something besides our uniforms. It may be that we ended up with these days just because someone wanted to wear pajamas to school and this was the only way to do it, but we have the day and it is fun. Accessory day is strange and I am not a fan of it. Many have trouble incorporating the theme into an accessory. When they do it shows their creativity and want to have fun during one of the few weeks that is relaxed.The theme this year was not the best. It showed that we could not think of a new one and that we can switch around movie titles very well (Not Another Teen Movie). The class songs and dances get us to come together as a class and fight for the Spirit Stick. We all know the Spirit Stick winners will be the seniors every year we know it even most freshmen know it going into the gym, which reads “NO FRESHMEN IN GYM” thanks to some carefully placed duct tape. We all cheer our hearts out just to try to beat the juniors at least and maybe in hopes to change the outcome. The class becomes closer and united for an afternoon. Spirit Week is something we do four times before graduating and we will always remember those four afternoons spent as a class.
Mr. Fiorelli,
I do agree with you to some extent. I don't really see what "I Love NY" day and stuff like that really have to do with spirit week, but whatever. I also think, however, that spirit week is a week to get everyone fired up for the pep rally on Friday and the big game and dance on Saturday. Having the different themes and class songs is just another way to add to the excitement. Getting to listen to the classes sing their songs and see how they've changed the words, especially when you know and like the song, is always interesting to me. Having the different themed days is a way for us, as a class, to gain points throughout the week. After the pep rally, the spirit stick gets awarded to the class with the most spirit (and points), which is why everyone participates in the different days. Spirit week lets us all relax a little in school and get to have some fun as a change from the normal, boring week. I think it would be good to start off the pep rally with our fight song (which we do have, by the way, and i have a copy to prove it). Over all, i think spirit week is an awesome week and i think it should remain the same, themes and all.
P.S.-I just think that maybe we should start coming up with some more interesting themes!
You have a good argument here, Mr. Fiorelli. In my opinion Spirit Week is a great idea. Once a year grades 9-12 get to go crazy and show their school spirit. Everyone gets really competitive and does everything they can think of so that their class receives the spirit stick. It gives us a chance to show our creativity and individuality, which we aren’t usually able to do being in a catholic school. All through the year upperclassmen pick on the younger kids and it gives everyone a chance to get competitive and try and take the spirit stick from the seniors. The week consists of fun and sometimes silly things that get us excited about our school. Like this year each class had it’s own theme. The themes have no connection to us going to St. Mark’s but they are just ways to get us excited about being Spartans. If there weren’t any themes I don’t think people would get as involved. Being able to dress up, hang up signs, paint our hair and faces are all really cool ideas. Kids like doing fun stuff and Spirit Week is full of fun activities. However, I sometimes think that some students lose sight on what Spirit Week is really about. Instead of it being about our school it ends up into a war between classes. It gets to the point that students are tearing down other classes’ posters. Another example is the dress up days and spirit shirts. Is everyone really wearing the clothes to show school spirit or are they doing it to get out of uniform? Whatever the reason I still think Spirit Week is one of the best things we do all year. It is when the whole school comes together to show how much we love St. Mark’s, even though sometimes we forget that.
Mr. Fiorelli, you have made some very good arguments about Spirit Week. Even though I do not agree with you on many of your arguments, I can see where you are coming from. From a student’s perspective, I think that Spirit Week is the most exciting week of the whole school year. Each grade tries their hardest to win the spirit trophy, which is awarded to the class that had gained the most points by the end of the week. This competition lets each grade have a chance to show how much spirit they have for St. Mark’s High School. By participating in the different themed days, the whole grade gets to work together to try and win the spirit stick. By having the competition of the different grades, everyone really gets into the different themed days. You said that you didn’t understand the point of Pajama Day or I Love New York Day. The reason we have these days is to get everyone pumped up for the pep rally and the homecoming dance. Without these themed days everyone would not be as excited. Our pep rally is known to be so fun and exciting. Our memories from these special days will be with us forever. When the students that went to St. Mark’s are older they will be able to tell their children about all of their amazing times they has during their spirit weeks.
I think that your idea about having a St. Marks them song is a great idea. I think that at the pep rally it would be great that all grades would be able to have one song to all sing together. Usually at the pep rally each grade has separate songs and it would unite the school to have a fight song. Also, it would be awesome to sing the song at sporting events and it would really pump up the spirit of the teams. All and all I think that the SMH spirit week is an amazing week that the whole school can participate in.
Spirit Week is an amazing time of the year at St. Mark's. Everyone is so pumped up for homecoming. Every Spartan just radiates with school spirit. I don't really know how wearing your pajamas or jeans to school brings that out, but it does. Even the people with even the least school pride end up participating in the themed days. All of this uproar is to earn the spirit stick that each class so desperately wants. In a way, it sort of proves that your class is the best and has the most school spirit. Even if every year it goes to the senior class. None of the other classes have anger though when they find out that they lost. The energy and liveliness just keeps going on throughout the next night. I agree with you about the school fight song. I think that somebody should get on that and create one. It would be a great way to start off our school activities. I'm not so sure about the alma mater though. For one, it doesn't really get you pepped up and excited about St. Mark's. Also, nobody even knows the words to it. I think that homecoming themes each year are a great idea. Even though the themes have nothing to do with St. Mark's, they give spirit week an extra little flare. Each grade gets their very own theme that distincts them from all the other classes. I didn't really enjoy this years theme though. It seems like they just ran out of themes and couldn't be creative enough to make a new one up. Overall, spirit week is just a way to express yourself and individuality. It is kind of hard to do that when you attend a catholic school where uniforms are required. Ten years from now were not going to remember all the different literary devices Thomas Paine used in his writings. We are going to remember spirit week and all the fun we had during it. Everything that goes along with spirit week just makes it even more memorable.
Mr. Fiorelli I'm liking some of these ideas that you posted, but i'm not going to lie some are very out there. Saint Mark's is a football school even though you and I probably hate to hear it, so why dont't we have a fight song that can spark up some nostalgia in the alums after the team scores. That would be a cool thing to add some order to the fans chaos, the spirit is all there but there needs to be some body to it. That's a good idea, but your views are a little hazy when it comes to class themes. Competitiveness sparks enthusiasm, the classes could not compete and exude enthusiasm if it were not for their individuality. I think the spirit week themes are a staple of this high school. In the summer of 2005 when i was an anxious, yet unsure, entering 8th grader I got some reassurence. I was at a buddie's house and we decided to watch our brothers' skit from the past years pep rally. As I watched James as Woody, Casey as Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the seniors in their magic kingdom garb I knew i had made the right choice, not Archmere, not anywhere else, I knew SMHS was the place for me. I wanted to experience the football games, the pep rallies and the spirit that ensues. Their is a degree of unity that comes in with the competing classes during this week, everyone respects others and knows in the end we are one big family. I mean the integrity of the pep rally would be scarred without the juniors versus the seniors and all the other classes. The week's fasion choices are a little questionable, i'd have to admit, and new ideas are left to be desired. The point is we love our school and want to show that at any cost, that is why this week is unique unlike any other. I know all teachers, coaches, administrators, and all former and current spartans have that spirit that is fueled by the affection deep in their hearts. Overall I would generally have it no other way, Spirit Week is an excellent prelude to the homeoming merriment.
GO SPARTANS!
MD GREEN
Well if you really want to know I shall tell you. Spirit week is a week where you can show off your school spirit. It is a competition for all grades to see who really rules the school. No one can tell you that you are being too loud at the Pep Rally. You are simply showing your love for St. Mark's! Spirit week gets everyone psyched about the school year! You get to act crazy all week, have a pep rally, and then get all dressed up for the Homecoming dance! This is all a part of spirit week. I believe this special week unifies the school. We all are competing against eachother for the same stick, yet that's not it. We are all diverse in the way we show our school spirit. It just seems when we, the sophomore class, were screaming at the top of their lungs to the same song that could have in fact- won us the spirit stick, I felt like a whole. I felt like we are better than any other class out there! I can't wait to see what next year's theme will be!
The purpose of Spirit Week is to bond and connect with your friends and establish a deeper connection to your school. This is a time to make memories that will forever connect each of us to our teammates, friends, teachers, and the school. The tradition has been established of singing songs, passing the spirit stick, performing skits, working on floats, dressing up differently each day based on the theme. Finally, watching or playing in the games, and dressing up for the dance concluded the activities for the week. It would be wrong to change the manner in which we celebrate Spirit Week because it would change the traditions that make Spirit Week so special. I can remember my sister talking about the spirit stick and all the activities of the week. I couldn’t wait to participate myself. I personally really enjoy Spirit Week. It really gets me pumped up for the game. Passing along these traditions from class to class and between siblings is the very source of the St. Mark’s pride you speak so fondly. All who have passed the spirit stick through creative songs, floats, and participation through the week are demonstrating their St. Mark’s pride, and are linked together forever in St. Mark’s history. Spirit Week is a success because the majority of students participate and compete between classes to be recognized. This creates a unity within each grade between classmates to prove together that their class is the best. The themes and dress-up allow students to get more involved in homecoming. The themes demonstrate the creativity of the students. Changing the themes each year makes it more individual to the class that chose the theme in a particular year. I felt the 2006 Homecoming was a success because it was competitive and fun and the intense pep rally topped off Spirit Week.
Spirit week is probably the best school week of the year. Everyone is extremely excited for homecoming and the big football game, so it becomes the perfect time to show school spirit. However, all the crazy days like pajama day and accessory day have nothing to do with school spirit. We do them so that we can get points for our class to win the spirit stick at the pep rally. And yes, I agree that the themes are silly, but they make spirit week even more fun because we can dress up and act like a bunch of goofballs. Spirit week is all about competition between the classes. It's more about class spirit than school spirit. That's why we make our cheers and songs for the pep rally; to outdo all the other classes so we can win. But don't get me wrong, I love doing it. It makes the entire week much more fun because we know it's a competetion. I do agree with you about the fight song. That would be an amazing way to unite the school and show real school spirit, rather than just class spirit. Overall I think that spirit week is a very relaxing and fun week for the students and it is a great tradition at St. Mark's, but it would be cool if it was more about school spirit instead of class spirit.
Spirit week is a HUGE deal to us spartans. Our biggest goal is to beat the seniors and every other class for that amazing spirit stick that symbolizes how much spirit our class really has. We all want to show that our class is and always will be the best. No matter what the outcome though, I think the class of 2009 will always be the best!
I do agree that our pajama day and jeans day for spirit week doesn't have much to do with why we are spartans, but wearing uniforms all year, I think this is our chance to show our individuality and prove to everyone that we can be different and supposrtive even with days like that. Our themes for homecoming are also more ways to be creative. With different themes, we can have fun and make floats and decorations that not many people would ever think of.
To me, spirit week is an entire week of individuality, fun, and creativity. Yes, as I said, we are anxious for that spirit stick at the end, but that just makes us more motivated and willing to try. In this week we participate. Each and every one of us. Whether we contribute a lot or only a little, it all makes a difference and shows that each class is a team. We worked together over that week to be the best.
Even though we didn't win, we still showed our spartan pride on Friday. I'm sure we will ALL remember that week with good memories with friends, competetion, and accomplishment. Spirit week is very important to the St Mark's spartans and I think that it is one of the best weeks filled with excitement we have all year.
I agree, most of our Spirit Week traditions have nothing to do with our school. Yet, surprisingly enough, somehow they do get our school spirit flowing. In a perfect world, everyone would have school spirit all the time, but let's face it, we don't live in a perfect world. Not everyone has school spirit. At least one activity of the week might get the least spirited kid excited about going to St. Mark's. The things we do make us individual. I can't think of any other school that has kids get as excited about Spirit Week as St. Mark's.
I do agree with you that somehow we should focus more on specifically our school. Ending the pep rally with the Alma Mater is trully a great idea. At this point, all Freshman learn the Alma Mater. It's never really used though. In a way, you almost want to ask what the point of having one is. If we had our Own fight song, that would be completely original. We could say we're the first school to have one, and it would be proof that students at St. Mark's love it. I think in the future, we should try to get back to the essence of what our school stands for and to be excited about that.
More than likely in every Spartan's opinion, spirit week is the best week ever. There are so many events piled up in these six days. We purchase and wear our spirit week t-shirt, there is pajama day, and a day where we represent our class themes by dressing up as characters and such. During the pep rally, we all compete for the spirit stick which represents class with the most spirit. This years spirit week was better than last years, except for the fact that sophomores got DQ’d. The football game and homecoming dance were a great climax to end spirit week. The dance and football game were lots of fun.
So what’s the fuss about spirit week you ask? Spirit week is a week unlike any other week. It is something to look forward to because it's something different than your average week of school. Spirit week is a time when we truly represent St. Marks High School.
I agree with many of your ideas stated Mr. Fioreli. None of the things that we do during spirit week really have anything to with school spirit. But the thing is, if we just had a “school spirit” week every year, it would eventually get kind of boring. Having these special days in which we all get to dress up for different themes and see which class shows up in what crazy outfit that day gives us a sense of excitement and competition. Each class competes to see who can
pull off their assigned theme the best. Whichever class has the most ideas and creativity will obviously show and they will come out on top.
awgreen
Spirit Week is my favorite week of the school year. Not only do we get to dress down, but everyone is always in a better mood. The whole week leads up to the amazing pep rally. At the beginning of the week the school is still quite bare, but as the week goes on the walls get filled with decorations for each class’s theme. The whole idea of Spirit Week is to show school spirit, but while doing this it unites the classes. Each grade wants to win the spirit stick, and in order to do that they have to out spirit the other classes. Also, school flies by during this special week. Teachers are more easy going, and allow everyone to be a little crazier. One of the greatest parts about it is that everyone has the chance to be involved. It’s not like a football game or cheerleading competition where only the people on those teams get to participate. Every single person in the school can dress up using their own creativity. People can break out of their shell and show some real school spirit.
So Fio, according to your blog you don’t really understand Spirit Week, but you say you have school spirit. Well I believe that you do, but Spirit Week isn’t really that hard to get. I mean, it might be weird that the themes have nothing to do with our school, but how boring would it be if the themes were St. Mark’s every year. There wouldn’t be that much room for creativity after a while. I guess my explanation for it isn’t that helpful, but maybe Spirit Week shouldn’t be something you get. Maybe it should be more of something you just feel. Just feel the school spirit in the halls, and feel the love everyone has for our great school.
Anyway I think Spirit Week is amazing. The only thing about it that is bad is that the week after is so slow and boring. I miss it already and can’t wait for next year!
In my opinion Spirit Week is one of the best, if not the best week of school we have all year. The whole atmosphere of the entire school is just much more relaxed, but at the same time very spirited. However, I do agree that there are several flaws which should be recognized and fixed. I concede to the fact that some of the things that we do during spirit week have nothing to do with our school at all. I dont see why we have to wear specifically our spirit week T-shirts. Of course they are a good option, but i dont see why we cant just wear our jerseys and team apparal the whole week. Another thing is pajama day. Of course its really fun and everyone loves it but it really has nothing to do with our school spirit. Personally i like pajama day, but i dont see the logic in how it displays school spirit. The themes are another problem i think. Why cant classes just pick a theme on their own without so much red tape. By only giving lus a couple of choices that doesnt fully allow us to express our spirit uniquely. As good as spirit week is i think that we should change some things and get some fresh new ideas to bring out our spirit even more.
What’s with all the fuss over spirit week? Where do I begin a whole week with not having to where our whole uniform and get to act like little kids again. We get to scream at the top of our lungs at pep rally for the spirit stick even though we know we can’t get it till we become seniors. We get to make crazy shirts and show our school spirit. Spirit week is the one week where we get to have fun and not having to worrying about our homework but what pajamas were going to wear. Pep rally also is like a kick off for the year. We have been in school for little over a month and this just lets the students have a little fun before the year takes off. Pep rally is also a good way for the freshman to become part of our school and see what some of the fun things we have. Also this is the only time all of the classes really get to come together and cheer on our sport players. Spirit week is the best week out of the whole school year except for Christmas break. The fight school would be something fun to do everyone get a laugh out of it so maybe we should try it one year.
Mr.Fiorelli spirit week does desevre such fuss and comotion every single year. Spirit week is one of the only events that we have that can unify the whole school. It is not like prom where only Senoirs look forward to or the Hersey park trip that the freshman look forward to. plus i bet you that if you ask some of your co-workers they do enjoy how for once that us students do have a commen goal, even if it is trying to win some stick. Spirt week is also a time were students can get away from the every day life that we life. Most of us are tired and exhusted with scool work and sports and spirit week gives us a new joy of coming to school everyday. This week is most likly the only week were a football player and a first chair in the band would agree that it is the best time to be a spartan.
You do have some valid points, though that i hope in future years we do consider. The idea of singing our fight song is great. Like you stated the big Collages all sing their school song proudly. For example we will probaly never see Michagan yell a verson of an old Brittney Spears song but hearing the Hail to the Victors is pricless. I also agree that our spirit week days should invole move about St.Marks since that is why we are so spirited. Maybe we should have a Green and Gold day or dress like a spartan instead of a fish or a lion.
All in all i do think spirit week is one of the best events our school can offer. Also This is a week that the senoirs can say yeah we won the spirit for 2006
Personally, I love spirit week. It gives the students something to look forward to when school stops being exciting. Each class gets a chance to unify and express our love for Saint Mark's. Even if you're someone who hates school spirit, it can still be something to look forward to. Any private-school student loves any chace to wear something other than their uniform at school, and any student in general loves being festive with beads and face paint and glitter. Spirit Week themes have nothing to do with being a Spartan or Saint Mark's because year after year of limited themes would get excessively boring and the classes would probably lose spirit by senior year. Non-corresponding themes give each class the chance to express their spirit for Saint Mark's, but in a more fun way because they have to use the theme that their class was given. However, this year's Homecoming theme did take away some spirit, I think. In my opinion, a new theme every year would keep up more spirit because it will always be a theme that hasn't been done before so it leaves many opportunities to represent it as a theme on Spirit Day. While having our theme being Spirit for Saint Mark's would be great, I think it may make the classes lazy in coming up with new ideas for the pep rally and result in less spirit. Singing popular songs each year keeps up spirit and its exciting. But i do think that the school as a whole or even each class could sing a Saint Mark's song during the pep rally. I also think that having the school do something together supporting Saint Mark's as a school during the football game and before the pep rally would be a very good idea. It would remind us that, even though each class is competing against the others, we are still one school and celebrating our school spirit as a whole. I think that Saint Mark's tradition for Homecoming and Spirit Week is to give each class a different theme and see how well each class can represent it. I agree with the fact that some of the Spirit Week days such as pajama day are a bit pointless, but I think it gets the students more pumped for the pep rally. I think that the themes for Homecoming, Spirit Week, and the pep rally all increase everyone's pride as a Spartan and to go to Saint Mark's highschool.
mbgreen
First of all I'd like to point out that our school already has a fight song. With music and lyrics and everything, the band plays it everytime there's a field goal.
So anyway, I think that spirit week is not only a great way to show school spirit, but also a way to get everyone's spirits UP. What better a way to do that that to wear jeans, pjs or crazy accesories to school? The competition for the spirit stick is also a great way to get everyone excited and ready for the homecoming game and dance.
I completely understand what your trying to say. I still think that we should have spirit week, but it should definitely be more school related. Insteasd of having crazy themes we should have our school as the theme. We should wear clothes that are school colors and jerseys, t-shirts, jackets, etc. for whatever team, activity, or club that we're involved in. I'm not going to diss any of the days, and definitely not the pep rally, but I don't think that the wierd themes the student council comes up with help to get our school spirit up. I like having a little break from the nomal school day, and I think it helps to get everyone pumped for the big game, but we should try to incorporate the school into it a bit more and make everyone know just what theyre getting excited about. The one thing I don't like about Spirit Week, however, is the fact that they pit the different grades against each other. Shouldn't it be spirit for the entire school and not just spirit for your grade only? I think it seems a little silly if you ask me.
As I read all these posts, every student’s opinion is almost exactly the same and that’s probably how students have felt for generations. I have to say that I do agree; although you made some arguable points. Last year, I, along with the majority of our school was disappointed in the homecoming theme, especially I LOVE NY day. That really has nothing to do with school spirit. This year though, I thought it was really cool how they tried to mix it up with Not Another Homecoming Theme. Although a majority of the things were still the same, it shows we're trying to change it up.
Since I was in about 5th grade, I’ve known I wanted to go to SMH. Not only because my older sister went here, I wanted to come here because of the school spirit. Because my sister did go here, I got to see the kinds of things she and her friends always did for school activities and I was the typical jealous little sister, trying to be part of everything! I remember her senior year spirit week, the theme was Superheroes, the repeated theme this year. It sticks out in my mind so vividly because I couldn’t wait to be in high school!
Now that I’m here, spirit week is just as important to me. However, I can agree with you on the fact that there are some elements of spirit week that could be changed. I think I fight song would be a great idea! But at the same time, maybe we could sing that along with our class songs. I think the class songs are a good part of spirit week because they give each class a chance to express their creativity in different way. Another good point is the insignificance of pajama day and jeans day; they don’t have much to do with school spirit. But hey, they’re tradition so who’s going to change ‘em?
As for the homecoming theme, in response to Piecuch, wouldn’t it be cool if the whole school could vote on themes instead of just student council? Maybe they could come up with a preliminary five or something and then the students could vote at the end of one year for the theme for next year. Then they wouldn’t reveal the actual winner until that year. I’m not sure, but maybe that would mix things up and we could get some better themes.
Spirit week is supposed to be fun and show school spirit. The fun and total nonsense during the week helps get the students in ‘the sprit’ for the pep rally and homecoming. Themes add to the fun for the students. It gives the students t dress up in funky clothes and be much spirited at the same time. The theme adds to the whole experience. If the theme was strictly ‘St. Mark’s,’ students would not have as much fun. Would there be contests to see which class could make the wall the most green?? A theme adds it gives the classes a chance to identify themselves with a theme. The seniors are ‘the superheroes’ of St. Mark’s. In a way the senior are superheroes. They are the oldest, and wisest, hopefully, in the school. They are super and now they get a chance to show this off. They identify themselves by wearing capes and other heroic outfits. The other days like pajama days are for fun. The kids have fun wearing their pajamas to school. It’s comfy and some even make it look goofy with their extra small, tight little kid pj’s. Sprit week is fun for most, well the people who decide to participate. But it can also no be fun to those who chose not to. Jeans day is a day for all. Who doesn’t like to wear jeans? Even if you are not in the ‘Spartan Spirit’ you still like jeans. It is a break from the bottom half of the uniform. I confess I did not wear jeans, simply because I forgot, otherwise, my jeans would have been on. Sprit Week is supposed to be fun for all and usually is. It sets the mood for the pep rally and homecoming and makes everything more fun.
In my opinion, spirit week is by far the most exciting week out of the whole year. Each class is allowed to show of their individual spirit for St. Mark’s in the intense competition for the spirit stick. It is a central contributing factor to a school’s unity. Our whole school comes together to support the school, and also have a ton of fun. I understand your points on what the meanings of wearing our pajamas to school and everything else are. I actually don’t really know either but I’m definitely not about to complain about a day where we don’t have to bother to get dressed in the morning. I think it’s really important for our school to have a spirit week. Even though the seniors are basically “entitled” to the spirit stick every year, its still fun to think that we have a chance. It’s amazing when our whole class gets together to sing our songs and cheers, to show support for our class and our school. It’s even more amazing when the whole gym prays. The whole community is connected and it is always completly silent. That’s true St. Mark’s spirit.
Spirit Week is an awesome tradition. The whole school gathering in the gym having a good time makes it one of the best weeks of the year.
I do agree with many of your stated ideas, but I like the way Spirit week is currently. The different themes of the classes allows for some healthy competition and allows everyone to get more involved in Spirit Week. It gives the Seniors bragging rights every year, and it gives every other class the chance to get out of those uncomfortable uniforms. Even though we do have themes, everyone usually dresses up in green and gold anyway. The Spirit Week shirts are always in school colors.
Also, I have never seen so many people show up for a football game than I do every homecoming game. The football team(and even the band, for once) get the support they deserve from the school.
So, in the end, we actually are showing school spirit, just in a different way.
I completely agree with you here Mr. Fiorelli. I've always thought that Spirit Week was a complete waste of time. After all, why should I waste hundreds of dollars every year on costumes and props that I'm only going to use once? Spirit week has always just been an excuse to act like an idiot. Dressing like Sesame Street characters doesn't even show school spirit, it just shows that you want to win the spirit stick. Spirit week isn't even about spirit anymore, it really divides the school and makes all the classes go against each other. It's all because of the coveted prize, the Spirit Stick. It's because of that one stick that divides all the classes and makes us hate each other at the pep rally. What's even worse is how most teachers and faculty encourage this behavior. I don't even understand why, but they all seem to love it. But then again, maybe it's because spirit week is so much different from the rest of a rather humdrum year. That's where your idea comes in to make spirit week more "spirity". It would be nice if everyday during spirit week we wore green and gold instead of having "pajama day". I would rather see us sing a fight song and the alama matter during the pep rally. It would be especially great if the pep rally was more about the football team over anything else, and not about winning the spirit stick. I know that I'm just ranting here, but I am trying to make a point. I just think that overall, spirit week should be more about pride for the school and how you can make it better.
Coming from the small grade school of Immaculate Heart of Mary, I had no clue what a REAL spirit week could be. From previous years, the school's "spirit week" consisted of one day of "pep rallying," which, in the end, turned out to be watching cheerleaders show off their mediocre and unoriginal cheers and watching a student/faculty volleyball game. The pep rally truely was a test to see how long one could endure the high-pitched squeals and screams of the hyper and overly-enthusiatic lower grades. So, it was understandable that I couldn't seem to get too excited for my first pep rally at St. Mark's. I couldn't grasp the concept of screaming your lungs out in a hot,
over-crowded set of bleachers, cheering and jeering, for what -- some stick ? Freshman year. The theme was "Dancing in the Streets," and, of course, the freshman class got stuck with "Abbey Road." Half the class didn't even know that Abbey Road had to do with the Beatles. So what were the freshman supposed to do ? Dress up like Ringo and Paul ? The class was disorganized in preparing for the rally and learning our song. Although I thought it would be a complete disaster, the pep rally was so entertaining. I came out hoarse, and I didn't even mind. Ok, so I
still don't see what wearing your PJs to school has to do with having school spirit, but it's my favorite day. And, sure, a couple days out of the year to be comfortable in sweats or jeans in nice too. And even though dressing up like superheroes, fish, the Wicked Witch of the West, or a sweet character from Candyland seemes far-fetched and nonsensical, everyone gets really into it; the crazier the costume, and the more people that participate, the more pumped up people get. That's the point of talleying up how many people participate in spirit week: to see which class has the most "school spirit." So, even thought it would be nice to stay true to St. Mark's during Spirit Week, people have a better time going over the edge and pushing the envelope with their ideas to out-cheer and "out-spirit" the other grades. The idea is being the most creative, which usually is way outside of the St. Mark's box.
I think that spirit week is to get everyone pumped for the homecoming football game and the dance afterwards. Sometimes it may seem to get a little wild, but thats just what teenagers do. Everyone shows their spirit sometime during that week, some do it in their own form, but nevertheless it is still present. To me, spirit week is one week out of the whole year to have fun and show your school spirit. Uf you look close enough. You see almost every student participating and to me, that is the important thing. It brings everyone together as one.
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