Spirit Week--I Don't Get It
NOTE: Many of these ideas have been posted before in Schoolsville after the Spirit Weeks in 2005 and 2006. I have edited the entry to reflect some slight changes in my opinion that resulted from some excellent student responses to my blog last year. Here goes the 2007 edition:I have to admit that I don't understand St. Mark's Spirit Week. I'm don't understand how dressing up like Sesame Street characters or Bourbon Street revelers translates into school spirit. I'm likewise 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 also know that with 28 years of experience at St. Mark's, I have lots of Spartan pride.
Ducking behind by my admission of ignorance, I will again post my rhetorical rant that will go no further than this blog. Not that I could change anything anyway. This Week is way bigger than I or anyone else, for that matter. The genie is out of the bottle (that's a metaphor, you see).
My first point is this. Why does Spirit Week need a special theme other than rooting for good ol' St. Mark's? How's this for a theme that we could use EVERY year? It's called 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 Spirit Week spent in the education, honoring, and cheering of St. Mark's history, tradition, and ongoing commitment to excellence.
Instead of singing silly class songs, how about conducting some school sing-alongs? Couldn't each class make up its own St. Mark's Spirit Song? In addition, couldn't we sing two school songs that many schools (schools with SCHOOL spirit) traditionally rally around. Those songs would be our alma mater and a real 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 these days. Fly, Eagles, Fly. Hail to the Victors (Michigan). 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 cheerleaders leading the singing, the dance team in step on the floor. If I were a St. Mark's student with an ounce of musical talent, I'd be composing a fight song.
Could you ever envision ending our Pep Rally with a proud, dignified, rendition of the St. Mark's Alma Mater ? Go to a college football game. Watch 100,000 rabid Penn State fans or 25,000 Delaware fans grow serious as the first strains of their alma mater are heard. They're proud to stand together to sing their alma mater. 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."
Hopefully this spirit will encourage more of you to attend the homecoming football game. Imagine a spirited football game day. The bleachers at St. Mark's packed with cheering STUDENTS, who, surprisingly, are not at home resting up for the dance. With every Spartan point scored, the band, cheerleaders, and fans could launch into the fight song. Think about it. What a great unifying, SCHOOL tradition. You see, it's not just about supporting the football team. Athletic competition gives us is a chance to cheer on and cheer with our band, our cheerleaders, our friends, and our schoolmates. Homecoming Day should be a celebration of being a Spartan.
So do we throw out all of the traditions of Spirit Week? No, not necessarily. Let's keep some dress-down days (but what's with Pajama Day, and carrying around stuffed animals? What's that have to do with spirit?) I'd like to see St. Mark's Color Days, every day, with the wearing the Green and Gold throughout the week and to the all of the athletic events. Wear your Green and Gold team uniform, club shirt, band hoodie, whatever. As long as it's Green and Gold.
As the Beach Boys would say, let's "be true to your SCHOOL" this year at the Pep Rally. Every year I'm told how the Spirit Week and the Pep Rally bring the classes together. This may be true. However, I often see just as much evidence of the SCHOOL spirit being torn apart. Last year 11th graders destroyed many senior signs. Negative cheering has been so prevalent in the past that rules against booing other classes had to be instituted during the pep rally. Still, students devise ways to mock those in other classes in support of their own grade.
I told you that this would be a rant. I also admitted to being in the small minority of those who don't enjoy the entire week of fun and games. To respond, take a clear position, and then back up your opinion with some logical reasons. You can agree with me (not the popular side, of course) or dispute my position.
Whatever side you take, I want to see you applauding, not jeering, the class that wins the Spirit Stick on Thursday. I want to see you at the football game on Saturday, cheering, not criticizing, those competing and performing on the field.
Extra credit if you post before next Wednesday. However, EVERYONE must respond to this for their writing journal.
posted by JTF @ 9:47 PM
44 comments
44 Comments:
I mostly agree with you. It does seem as though the Spirit Week tradition separates us as classes, rather than unite us as a school. It might be a more redeeming experience if students supported eachother instead of being overly competitive. The themes, however, I think are somewhat entertaining. They allowes us to decorate the wall and float with an idea that is unique from the other classes. If all four classes designed both the float and the wall relating directly to St. Mark's, things may start to get bland. Also, what would be the fun of accessory day?
The separate songs for each class seem to be okay, but it seems as though the actual singing of them is never too successful. Regarding the pep rally, I think that a little competition is acceptable. Of course each class wants to attain the ever-so-coveted spirit stick, but no one should be "booing" other classes. Overall, I think that the majority of students enjoy this exciting week at St. Mark's, and that's all that really matters, right?
Thanks for starting us off, LB. I just hope that this "exciting week at St. Mark's" ends with a nice crowd at the homecoming football game.
Spirit week is one of the best weeks of the year. Students get to dress up and yell just for some stick. Spirit week has a theme because it gives students a chance to show off their artistic abilities. Just cheering for “Good old’ St. Marks would get old after a while. Their needs to be competition included or else many won’t care, and yea, we all know the seniors are going to win at the end but its always fun to try. A sing along won’t work because there is no competition. A real fight song would be great, as would a mascot, but obviously higher ups in the school don’t care about these things, so it probably won’t happen, and yea I know there is supposed to be some mascot but I haven’t seen him yet, and a pep rally would be a good place for one. Singing the alma mater would be great, but not enough effort is given to teaching it to the students, one class period freshmen year is going to be hard to remember come senior year. Pajama day is ridiculous I agree, but its fun to get out of bed and spend absolutely no effort on clothes for the day, so how about pajama day every day? I love spirit week, and I can’t wait for next year’s.
Spirit Week, I would say, is the best week of the school year. All students who participate during pajama day and the other designated themes during Spirit Week, really show’s school spirit. These days are set-up for the whole student body, including teachers, to wear certain outfits. Those who participate in wearing whatever is assigned for that day, shows how committed they are to St. Mark’s by following that day’s assigned dress-code. I enjoy pajama day because it is a day when everyone can relax and feel comfortable during school. By individual classes needing to represent their own theme, proves a great way for them to bond. This also pertains to the pep rally. Classes are brought closer together due to their competitive drive. All the classes want to beat the other classes in order to win the Spirit Stick, the best Float, etc.. Yes, this all does go slightly overboard at times, however in the end, it is a fun experience. The class songs usually do not perform very well, but overall they are fun to create, and exciting to sing. Creating the class songs and singing them for their individual grade, helps unite each group as the ‘dress-up’ days and class themes tend to unite them. Singing the St. Mark’s Fight Song and the Alma Mater are good ideas, but in my opinion, they are humbling. Spirit Week and everything associated with it, is usually about getting crazy and ‘fired-up.’ After evaluating what happens during Spirit Week, I believe that I prefer Spirit Week the way it is and it should not be changed.
I think I’m going to have to agree with you on this one except for a few things. Spirit Week seems to separate us by classes, instead of uniting us as a school. It would probably be a lot more of a positive experience if the classes actually cheer for the school and each other instead of being exaggeratedly competitive. On the other hand the themes are very entertaining and interesting. The themes let us have our own decorations with a scheme that is exclusive from the other classes. If all four classes had the same theme relating to St. Mark's, things may start to get very boring and plain. The different song for each class is a good idea, but the songs tend to try to make fun of the other grades and aren’t sung very well. The pep rally is very fun and competitive, but sometimes it gets ridiculous. It always ends up as the seniors screaming and yelling every five minutes for themselves instead of the school. Some of the behavior is very unacceptable at the pep rally, such as the booing and ignoring the other classes skits and songs. Even though the pep rally may have some negatives, the most important thing is that the students enjoy spirit week at ST. Mark’s.
You held a very well thought out argument and I must say convinced me a bit to side with you; however, I am still a big supporter of the whole Spirit Day/Week fiasco. I personally love all the little things we do here at St. Mark's to show our spirit. I know pajama day really has no underlying revelence, but it is just plain fun. High school is extremely different from lower and middle school. No snack time, no nap time, and not even recess on the playground. It is nice to be more mature and at a higher level of intelligence, but I think that everyone still has that inner child just fighting to be let out. We can relive those good childish times while we attempt to support our school. It is fun to have creative, odd, irrelevent song, themes, and dress up days. Wearing the same plaid skirt, tights, and polo can get rather dull. I think I am about all greened and golded out. Everyone loves the school song, but spirit day helps us show our spirit through our class individuality. Although somewhat poorly written, you will see every student belting out the lyrics at the pep rally. I absolutely hate how people think it is appropriate to boo their fellow classmates. Unfortunately there are those few individuals who get a bit too competitive and take it too far. I am sure they really do not mean to be offending anyone. I personally am not a big sports fan, so going to game really does not bowl me over. I love to be a supporter of this wonderful high school, but going to a sports game on a cold day, sitting on uncomfortable bleachers, and eating some sort of hot dog that is probably not even eatible is not my idea of fun. For those that enjoy that, good for them. I just prefer to show my school spirit through other ways. Overall I think Spirit Day/Week is an amazing way for us spartans to express our school spirit.
Spirit Week is my favorite week of the year. Sure, its full of silly games and weird themes but I think that we, as highschoolers, deserve sometime to have fun and to be able to act like little kids, which we all know we are at heart, especially because of all the work and effort we put into school. It may seem that we don't really cheer for saint marks during spirit week, and sometimes that's true with all the things distracting us from what spirit week really is about. But if you think about it, what other school can say that they have as much fun as we do? Friends of mine that do not go to St.Marks told me that they were jealous of how much effort we put into spirit week and how much fun it sounds. We may not be directly cheering for St.Marks, but for me, I feel pride when I can say that our spirit week is better than most other highschools:]. I do, however, somewhat agree with the you. Maybe we could incorporate just a little more "Spartan Spirit" into the mix.
I look forward to spirit week every year. The students in each grade come together and decorate a float, decorate the wall in the cafeteria, come up with a song, and try to win the Spirit Stick. The themes of Spirit week are what make it interesting. If we had the same theme every year Spirit Week would be boring by sophomore year. The student council thinks of a theme for the entire week. This year the theme for Spirit Week was “Stepping Through Time.” The theme for the week was broken down into four different themes, just like the school is broken down into four grades. Each grade is assigned their own theme which related to the theme of the week. During Spirit week each day has a different optional dress code. When the students participate in the dress code by wearing there green and gold shirts they earn points for their grade. The pep rally is very competitive. All of the classes are yelling a chanting trying to win the Spirit Stick. Some of the behaviors at the pep rally are unacceptable. The booing, destroying of signs, and the ignoring of songs and skit are not necessary. Besides that, Spirit Week is my favorite week of the school year and I am excited for next year.
There are points that I agree and disagree with you. The reason we put so much time and effort in Spirit week is to show how spirited we are by making flashy signs and making shirts to go with our theme. The theme is important because it helps us bring out our creative side and bond as a class. You said that you would like to see spirit week spent in the education, honoring, and cheering of St. Mark's history, tradition, and ongoing commitment to excellence. Well to put this as nicely as i can say, that would be rather boring. We are teenagers we just want to have fun and show our spirit in our own way. Spirit week gives us a lot of freedom. I think the songs we make show our school spirit. You don't see other schools making songs to a theme and still have school spirit in them. A fight song would be cool to have. Of course we go around and say a cheer for each class, but I agree with you that is not a true fight song. I think the dress down days like pajama day shows how united our school is. You say that we may show some spirit but we also go against classes and do negative cheering. To me thats all part of the fun. Whenever I hear the other classes dis us in their song I laugh and give them props if its good. When the pep rally is all said and done with we stand untied as a school and appreciate everyones contribution.
Well first off, I partially agree with the post, some aspects of spirit week do need improvement. But, overall is spirit week really all that bad? I mean, it can’t hurt to have SMHS school spirit! I am for the spirit week, but I wouldn’t cry if there were some decent changes. As a matter of fact, I was in that 2% sitting in the top of the bleachers at the pep rally, and I did my part in the pep rally, to an extent. I even stood up and started beating my chest during our song, so I definitely have spirit. But, also I brought my earplugs, so I have mixed feelings about the pep rally. I agree that the songs are silly as stated in the post, and that sometimes need to just be removed completely. I love spirit week and participating in it, but I disagree about the Homecoming. It’s just plain overrated and not worth my time. I usually have a paintball game that weekend anyway. I would say that I have school spirit for SMHS, but I also know what it means to hate one’s school bitterly. This was the case with my grade school; I refused to go to graduation because of my hatred for the school. This makes spirit week and having school spirit a new experience for me. This being said, I know all too well both sides of this argument, and I think that spirit week is a good thing for the school. As for the classes booing each other and ripping each other’s signs, we’re high school kids, these things happen and are to be expected, and just will not change.
I understand where you're coming from. Some of the traditions are kind of strange and random, but it gives students a chance to get creative in supporting their class. It's a chance to be really outgoing and show how much spirit you have. If you go all out for the theme of the day, it shows that you're really into it, and the spirit. I'll admit I don't think pj day has anything to do with school spirit, but it's always fun to wear jammies to school. But you can wear green and gold St. Mark's sweat pants, and it is on pep rally day where students paint their faces school colors. I, personally, love pep rally day. It's the one day you don't have to worry about your looks because you're in sweats and have paint on your face and in your hair. I think the spirit themes are just an addition to all the fun. But if the theme every year for every class was St. Mark's spirit, we'd see maybe a million "Marcus Spartans" walking around all week, and people may get tired of it. Each theme distinguishes each class. Dressing up prooves that you want to win the Spirit Stick (and it's amazing what students will do for a 8 ft. wooden stick). But to be perfectly honest, it never occured to me why spirit week separates the classes more than unites them. We did have a unity cheer this year, which, I think, was new. But I guess I've been getting into Spirit Week so much that I never really looked into the meaning behind it.
I do not know where you are coming from, but you should appreciate not having to do much work for a week, we as a student body sure do. The classes sometimes take the competition to far. When the class of 08 took down all the seniors’ posters they took the competition way to far and should have been disqualified. If the class of 2010 can be disqualified from the pep rally for ripping up a shirt the juniors should have been disqualified from the entire competition, however they did not even get disqualified from the pep rally. I feel that it is perfectly fine to have some harmless fun, but you can’t take it as far as the juniors did. Personally I think that it would be boring if everyone went to the homecoming game and sang the Alma Mater. Eventually it would become very old, and it would diminish the whole meaning of spirit week. Spartans don’t show their spirit by singing the school song. The point of spirit week is to show school spirit and creativity. A major contribution to spirit week is the pep rally. This is basically an excuse for students to yell, chant and dress up; but it is also a fantastic way to show how creative each class can be with their theme. It is not difficult to see why there is only about 2% of the St Mark’s population doesn’t enjoy spirit week.
I agree with jws blue.
What is Spirit Week? Why do we have it? Well, I’m sure most students would agree with me when I say Spirit Week is one of the best weeks of the school year. It gives us all a chance to let loose and have some fun. I like Spirit Week because I think it allows everyone’s creative side to come out, brings each class closer together, and in the end, gets us all rallied up for the homecoming events, including both the game and dance. We have Spirit Week because without it St. Mark’s wouldn’t be the same, and the spirit at St. Mark’s wouldn’t be the same ether. I think Spirit Week makes everyone think outside of the box. There are so many different thing to decide on and ideas to think about, from the lyrics to your class song, the cafeteria wall, the homecoming float, and most importantly, the homecoming theme itself. I definitely feel that my class has grown closer these past two years as a result of this special time. We all have to work together to come up with out skit, wall, cheer, song, and float if we want to win. Everyone is so enthusiastic and pumped to go to the pep rally that we all truly bond and connect with one another. The main purpose of Spirit Week, however, is to get us fired up for the homecoming fun and flamed with Spartan Spirit. I know as the week goes on my excitement continues to grow and grow. By Friday, I’m blazing with green and gold and cannot wait for what is ahead. I love going into the gym and seeing nothing but St. Mark’s colors and hearing nothing but St. Mark’s cheers. When the pep rally is over, weather we win or lose I am as happy as I can be. The pep really is a lot of fun for every class no matter what place they take. As I drive home from the rally, I just cannot help thinking that Saturday is going to be amazing, and it certainly was, both the game and the dance. After that fantastic and fun week, I can truly say I am filled from head to toe with Spartan Spirit and shine brightly with Spartan pride!
Spirit week is the week I look forward to from the time we start school. And then, after that week of fun is over, I’m already looking forward to next year’s spirit week. I agree that some of the activities are a little juvenile, like pajama day for instance, but as high school students we need a little bit of fun every once in a while. As for the different themes, I think that if we had just one general theme spirit week would get boring and there would be nothing to distinguish one year from the other. I know that the students who make up the themes are very creative, but to have to find something every year that has to do with St. Marks Spirit would be very difficult, not to mention dull. Green and gold are great colors, but when you wear them everyday to begin with, it would take a lot of the fun out of spirit week. The themes unite the individual classes while creating healthy competition between the grades to see which class has the most school spirit. Even though the colors worn might not be green and gold, it can still be called “school spirit” because there is participation in school activities. The healthy competition I mentioned before may go a little too far but for the most part fun is first in everyone’s minds. The pep rally takes place to see which class has what it takes to be the spirit stick winners for that year. Even though the seniors are usually the recipients, it's still fun to try and who knows, maybe one year another class will win. The point of spirit week is not to over analyze why we do what we do. Save that for the other one hundred seventy something days. Just go with the flow and have fun!
Im my opinion Spirit week is the best week of the year regardless of what anyone else says. I say this because as high school students we definately need our time to goof around and have fun and now always have so much stress out weeks and too much homework. Thats why spirit week gives us just a little break from the normal everday routine. I mean being able to have the competition and being able to be creative is what makes spirit week something to look forward too. And you say it seperates us, but whats wrong with a little bit of competative spirt? Most high school kids find this as their little break of escape from school, so why not make it worth while and show everyone your willing to be competative, but still have fun. And as for the fight song, i think a fight song is definately needed for sports and things of that nature. I definately dont see it being used at peprally because the indiviual songs by each grade is what makes the compition even better. And sure sometimes the dress down days are pointless, but hey, atleast we dont have to wear our uniforms. Its just something to take us out of our normal everday routine. I am pumped for next years Spirit Week, and i think everyone else should be too.
I understand what you mean when you say that it is strange to be dressed up in pajamas and jeans on spirit week. However, I think you have a different idea about why we are doing this. Spirit week is a fun time for everyone and it’s the one time in the school year where we get to express our creativity. The reason why we get dressed up in crazy outfits, come in to school in slippers, and jeans is because that is how we show that we are still one. We get together with our friends, have fun and I think that is school spirit. Spirit week is an exciting time for all because each class has a different theme, which represents the different classes of St Mark’s. Every grade gets to do something special and contribute to making spirit week fun. When we have the chance to wear what we want and do these fun activities, we are able to show our originality. I think that having spirit week is a good time to show our personalities. You can see every individual person of St. Marks through the way they present their school spirit. I feel that spirit week is a great time of the year where we can show our school spirit through not only wearing green and gold but through our imagination and unity.
Spirit week is amazing. Competition, with school spirit, is the consistent theme. The friendly competition is a way to take pride in your class and you school. Without special themes for each class, there would be no room for each class to display their creativity. Competing with every other class while still keeping unity within the school is exciting. It is what keeps participation high and the students enthusiastic. The class song is another way for each class to showcase its creativity. Although the themes may no be school related, they are there for the simple fact that they’re fun. If we just sung the same song every year it would become redundant. Each class had different students with different personalities. Therefore, they should be able to express their unique class characteristics through their song, posters, cheer…ect. However, I do agree with you on one comment you made. In addition to each class song, there should be a St. Mark’s fight song. That would then let each class be competitive, express their individuality while still keep a unity within the school.
Spirit week is a week filled with energy. Dressing up and painting faces are fun ways to pump up the energy of the students. The pep rally is the main event. It is a time for all the students to show their support for all the St. Mark’s sports’ teams. As far as wearing green and gold, we have the pep rally day for that. We wear our school colors the entire school year. Does that not show school spirit? Pajama day is another tradition that just adds to the fun. Now I must admit, you have made some legitimate points. However, I am one of the 98% of the people who disagree with you. Spirit week is a week filled with fun, energy, and of course school spirit. All of the activities competitions and songs are all components that make spirit week so amazing.
Spirit Week is an exciting part of high school. While I agree that some parts of Spirit Week could be improved, I think that overall it does show our Spartan Pride.
Even though the class competition can bring out some students’ bad sides, I think it is important because it increases student participation and unites us classes. Instead of just having the class competition through things that can’t be measured directly, like class songs and posters, I think it would be fun to have some head-to-head class competition. For example, we could have a boys volleyball match one night during spirit week. Each class could have a team of boy volleyball players and they could compete against the other classes. For the girls, there could be powder puff football after school one day. To increase school spirit overall, classes could be awarded points based on how many members of that class attend sporting events during the week. Besides just the homecoming football game, Spartan spirit would be encouraged for all the teams competing at home during the week. This way, they would be showing school spirit and class spirit at the same time.
Having different themes each year keeps things interesting. Using a theme than can be broken down into parts for each class joins the school together while allowing each class to express themselves in their own unique way. St. Marks is one school made up of four classes so I think that having an overall theme with four different parts is representing our unity as a school and our individual class pride. When each class dresses up in accessories to represent their part of the theme, we are having some fun while showing how united we are as a class. The school unity comes in when we dress up for pajama day. On that day, the entire St. Mark’s student body unites as one by wearing our pajamas. Besides being a lot of fun, it represents participation as an entire school while accessory day represents participation by class.
So, I have to disagree with you that dressing dress up in our pajamas or wearing winter clothes doesn’t relate to Spartan Spirit. To me, it’s a fun way to show my Spartan Spirit and my class spirit.
Spirit week is definately one of the most exciting traditions at St.Marks. It not only lets us act goofy and crazy, but let us show our school spirit through out the week. Pajama day,accessory day, and jeans day are just some of the things we participate in. I understand some of what we do does not make much sense, but it gives us a break to really fall back into another year of school. The pep rally really tops of the end of Spirit Week. Each grade gets to participate and compete against one another through songs, chants, and dances. Sometimes this is the worst part of Spirit Week. Everybody gets a little to competitive and fights with one another. I think that in the future, we should have something that all the grades can work together on and be a team, instead of enemies. Another exciting thing that happens during Spirit Week, is that each grade gets to make their own float representing their grade with the theme chosen. This is where creativity and working together come in play. The floats are ridden during St. Marks homecoming football game, where they choose a winner for the floats. I absolutely love Spirit Week and can't wait until next year for it. It can be random at times, but everyone enjoys it!
Everyone says that Spirit Week is the best week of the entire year. In many ways I agree to this statement. When everyone participates in the event for that day, whether it be Pajamna Day, Accessory Day, etc, we are all shwing school spirit. Although it may not be relevant to the school itself, by haing everyone participate unites the school. And, Accessory Day allows everyone to show support for their grade by proudly wearing anything related to that classes theme. It really does bring our classes together, and, in order to have the school united, the classes need to be united. And, when the Pep Rally eventually comes, everyone is so excited. We all know the seniors will win it in the end, but I must admit it sure isfun trying. Our classes get to compete against eachother, but at the same time we have strong class unity. I do think that a fight song would be a good idea, but the friendly competition between the classes seem to make the event much more fun. Although our classes are seperated, everyone participates with full school spirit, because it is everyone in the school that participates, not just a single grade.
St. Marks spirit week is the best week in the entire school year. I think that it gives us a chance to show our school spirit even if some of the things we do don't make much sense. Such as pajama day which doesn't much to do with spirit day but is kinda fun since you just have to wake up eat and go to school. Also, I don't think that accesory day rally has a point but it can be the most fun of the days other then the day of the pep rally. Probablly the thing that we could do to help spirit day is to have a song for the pep rally that all the classes sing so that it unites us in some way. I believe that it helps to unite our class by having a class wall and a class float even though were competing against the other classes to see who has the best float. I think one of the best things that unites us at least as a class is preparing for the pep rally since everyone needs to join in and help if you want to win the spirit stick. Also, pep rally day is the best day of the school year and gives students a chance to mess around, paint their hair and face and leave school early. This is probablly why the raesons why the majority of the school likes spirit week.
I agree with you about Spirit Week and the way it works at St. Mark’s. This is my first year at St. Mark’s. Before I came here, I spent 7 and half years in Korean schools and 2 years in American public schools. So the Sprit Week was surprising to me.
In Korea, the only events I can remember that are similar to the Spirit Week would always take place at the end of the school year. This is when the all the students would go out on the field, and compete in different sports and would cheer for their teams.
Korean students stay in the same classroom all year since they are divided into different classrooms. The teachers come to the classroom to teach. By the end of year, the students in each class know each other well. At the year end event, they cheer for their class team.
In my public school education in America, I attended a middle school and a high school. I didn’t’t experience anything like the St. Mark’s Spirit Week in either of these schools. There weren’t’t any events like Spirit Week except for some pep rallies in the high school.
So, how do I feel about the St. Mark’s Spirit Week? I definitely felt that the purpose of the week is a good idea, which is to create school Spirit for the students.
However, I don’t think that buying T-shirts and having days like Pajama Day and Accessory Day contribute to creating spirit.
How do I think St. Mark’s could make the Spirit Week better? What if the week included opportunities for the students to learn St. Mark’s history? What about making each day be a time to learn about a different part of St. Mark’s history such as its academic achievement, its athletic tradition and then have a day for all the teachers who graduate from St. Mark’s? These might make the Spirit Week significant and meaningful for the students.
I agree with you about Spirit Week and the way it works at St. Mark’s. This is my first year at St. Mark’s. Before I came here, I spent 7 and half years in Korean schools and 2 years in American public schools. So the Sprit Week was surprising to me.
In Korea, the only events I can remember that are similar to the Spirit Week would always take place at the end of the school year. This is when the all the students would go out on the field, and compete in different sports and would cheer for their teams.
Korean students stay in the same classroom all year since they are divided into different classrooms. The teachers come to the classroom to teach. By the end of year, the students in each class know each other well. At the year end event, they cheer for their class team.
In my public school education in America, I attended a middle school and a high school. I didn’t’t experience anything like the St. Mark’s Spirit Week in either of these schools. There weren’t’t any events like Spirit Week except for some pep rallies in the high school.
So, how do I feel about the St. Mark’s Spirit Week? I definitely felt that the purpose of the week is a good idea, which is to create school Spirit for the students.
However, I don’t think that buying T-shirts and having days like Pajama Day and Accessory Day contribute to creating spirit.
How do I think St. Mark’s could make the Spirit Week better? What if the week included opportunities for the students to learn St. Mark’s history? What about making each day be a time to learn about a different part of St. Mark’s history such as its academic achievement, its athletic tradition and then have a day for all the teachers who graduate from St. Mark’s? These might make the Spirit Week significant and meaningful for the students.
Many teachers do think spirit week is stupid, and I can see why. The teachers aren’t surrounded by their friends all day, and that is what makes spirit week so much more fun. People may think it does not unite the classes, but in a way it does. For instance, the themes all intertwine. This year was travel through time. If you think about it, you could not have had the age of exploration ( Juniors theme) without ice age (Sophomores theme), or age of pyramids (Freshmen theme), or even prehistoric (Seniors theme). Even though each class is a rival to one another the classes themselves are very united. We had to come together to learn a class song which we sung as an entire class, also we learned a cheer. The seniors even get the same t-shirts. This year showed the most unity out of all the years because all the grades participated in a dance. Also, we all had the same cheers to sing. But in the end spirit week is just some fun to get people excited for homecoming.
I have assessed your views on Saint Mark's Spirit Week and you have proved to me there is a need for a few minor changes in the week's curriculm. Still, many of the fun and exhilerating traditions are acceptable for harmless class competiton. I do feel that Saint Mark's does need a fight song to pronounce not only class unity but the entire school. Class songs and themes also bring out the creativity and pride of the freshmen, sophmores, juniors and the mighty seniors. I clearly realize that during all the chanting and class skits, there are a few negative comments that are exchanged between the parties. The reality is that one bad apple makes all the others go bad and there are hundreds of students in each class. So it doesn't make any sense to complain about unsportsmanlike sayings when you still are in favor of having a pep rally. It's going to occur in any school. The other issue was the dress code for Spirit Week. I think that wearing green and gold or an athletic jeresy is an excellent idea. Wearing theme clothing is also a fun activity. I know you see pajama day as a worthless waste of school spirit, but my perception about the topic is that Spirit Week isn't only for spirt; it's also a fun dressdown week. Since we all attend catholic school, we don't have the privelge of wearing casual clothing. So pajama day is when students can just hop out of bed and go to school to earn easy class points for the "fight" for the Spirit Stick. It's a nice feeling to wakeup and to not have the irritating task of getting dressed. You should try it sometime but only if you have true spartan spirit! I mostly agree with your reasoning but I think it contains some useless and boring rules.
Spirit week is what we’re all about at St. Marks. It’s the one week in the year were students can really show ‘what we’re all about’. We paint our faces green and yellow, dye our hair all sorts of colors, and dress up in crazy costumes just for a good laugh. And after reading your rant about Spirit Week, I completely see where you’re coming from and agree with you on some of your points, but disagree with you on others.
You do bring up a good point about every class having a different theme, and how it does seem to separate us as a school. Because yes, we do jeer and boo the other classes, and when it comes down to it, that’s not right. But all in all, we’re just teasing and trying to have a good time. I feel that it is the competitiveness and drive to win the spirit stick that brings out our ‘inner Spartan’. If everyone in the gym sang the same song and did the same thing, it would crush the energy of the students. You must also remember that all themes are related in some way [this year being different time periods], so having different yet similar themes and songs let us represent not only our school, but our class as well.
As for the rest of the week and the crazy dress down days, there really isn’t much to say. They’re just a silly things to do with your friends, and meant to get everyone excited for the pep rally, the homecoming game, and homecoming. All in all, I feel that Spirit Week is the best week of the school year.
Spirit Week is by far, the best week at Saint Mark's. We have the chance to bond with our class through our class song, and cheer. The unity cheer, and dance that was added this year, shows how we work together as a school. The themes are entertaining, and you can show your creativity for your class to earn points. Who would have thought you would see two seniors wear a costume together to be Dino from The Flinstones? I think the different themes are a good idea. What would be the point of having four floats of the same theme? As for the pep rally, I think it's more about having fun rather than winning some stick. You can have fun with your friends and classmates by attempting to be the loudest and do your cheer the best. I agree with you on some of this though. PJ day has nothing to do with school spirit, but it does get us excited about coming to school. I don't think there are any other days in the school year that students are more excited about. Also, nobody gets as into any other days we have likek the students get into our Spirit Days!
I don't mean to be cruel but I totally disagree with you. I know all the classes seem to be separated into teams during this week, but sometimes a little rivalry isn't bad . I understand your point on the songs. They could be a little more "spirited". But I love that each class comes together and writes a song how we're better than the other classes. I love competition. As for the week, don't we all wear the same t-shirt or show off our jersey on the "spirit" day? I think this exemplifies spirit. Even though we have accessories day, where every wears different items, everyone is still doing the same thing. Back to the pep rally, I think singing the alma mater would be pointless because it wouldn't get anyone pumped up. In addition no one knows the words to the song. We sung it one class period freshman year. Personally, I didn't remember it the next day. It's a slow paced song that sounds like it should be sung at funerals. A fight song would be a good idea, but eventually the students would become tired of it. I think the spirit stick is a great representation of what class has the most spirit. Everyone is fighting for the same thing, the stick. I think thats spirit. Everyone fights for the same thing outside the pep rally, a St. Mark's victory. Spirit week is amazing.
Showing spirit should be when a school grows unified through activities such as wearing school colors, or creating a class song. To me, Spirit Week is the most fun week of the school year because the students can just have fun. I do have to agree that Saint Mark’s has twisted ideas on how to unify the school and how to get the school to show their Spartan Spirit. Although the Spirit Week themes are creative and fun, I agree that they show scant Spartan Spirit. Also, I think that instead of the four classes competing for the Spirit Stick at the pep rally, the whole school should grow together and unite. Isn’t that what school spirit is all about-unification and pride?
In addition to Spirit Week, I was disappointed at the turn out of students at the homecoming football game. I think I saw more parents of the football players than the total number of students that attended the game. (Okay, I may be exaggerating a little, but I’m trying to get the point across.) Lastly, why hasn’t anyone written a Saint Mark’s fight song? That is such a great idea! A fight song would be a great addition to any sports event.
All in all, I feel our school needs to add some new traditions, maybe some that actually have to deal with Saint Mark’s and what we believe in.
It is understandable that someone may see our St. Mark's spirit week traditions as a waste of time and not a true reflection of spartan spirit. However, i believe that our spirit week and pep rally are the best examples of spirit and fun I have experienced in a long time. Jeans day, now it may seem piontless, but think about it we all have to wear our spirit week shirt to wear them so we are all wearing school colors. Accessory day is just a fun way to get out of the boring routine of the uniform. Pajama day is one of my favorite days. You get to be funny and participate in something together with your entire school. How isn't that school spirit ? Each class has a theme to unify them in a way. Because we have mixed lunches we are never together as a graduating class. We became one with our theme and committed to it to try to win the spirit stick at the pep rally. To sum it up, the student have a great time with spirit week, it is something to look foreward to and get excited about. It gives us a chance to have fun with our classmates and with the school.
I have to say that I partially agree with the blog. It is true that some things during Spirit Week have gotten out of hand over the years. Then there are some traditions in Spirit Week that keep the students full of spirit that don't necessarily involve St. Marks. These traditions are needed to keep students from getting bored with the same thing year after year.
Pajama Day is one of those traditions. It has nothing to do with St. Marks but it shows spirit in a sense of who makes the effort to dress up. People who come in their uniforms on Pajama Day, Accessory Day, Sweats Day, etc. seem like they don't have enough spirit to show it. Themes are also an idea that keeps people in spirit. Homecoming needs it as a theme to make the dance one year more individualistic than other years. Themes allow students to unite as a class and then unite as a school during the pep rally. Coming up with a new theme, a new song, etc. every year keeps Spirit Week exciting and interesting. If we sang the same song every single year, even if it was the alma mater, it would get a bit tedious over time. School spirit is shone at the pep rally very well just by the green and gold audience standing on the bleachers and also the Spirit Stick. It's true that lately the competition has been getting too intense, with the booing and insulting other grades. Theirs is no need for that, especially if this whole occasion is meant unite us. People should be supporting their grades in the fight for the Spirit Stick, but not degrading other grades. Other than that, Spirit Week is fine just the way it is.
I agree with you on some points you have made, but on others I might have to disagree with you. In my opinion, Spirit Week’s purpose is for us to have one week out of the year where we can have fun, be comfortable, and express our spirit for our school. I know pajama day does not have anything to do with the spirit of St. Marks, but it is many student’s favorite day of the week. Everyday students are allowed to wear their spirit shirts to show their spirit. Between the classes the competition is very competitive in winning the awards that are given at the end of the week. It does sometimes get out of hand and one can say that it is separating the classes, but without this competition imagine how many people would not participate. I would think that most of the students would not care about their song at the pep rally if there were not any award at the end. Spirit Week needs the competition between the classes to keep us motivated to show our spirit even if the consequences are our classes sometimes separating. Without this competition, most of us would not show as much spirit as we usually would with the competition involved.
I don't quite understand Spirit week either. I think the themes have nothing to do with the school spirit of the students. I think the representation is more symbolic than anything else. I think school spirit is about more than just winning the spirit stick. It is about loving your school and the people that run it. Spirit week is almost completely random. The themes seem to have nothing to do with St. Marks, but for some reason , everyone embraces them. In my opinion, Spirit week is the funnest week of school there is. I think that is what makes students have love for their school. They love the fact that they can come to school and paint their faces and learn at the same time. The themes of spirit week really are just a way of having fun. The very thought of winning the big long pole is so exciting. Why you might ask? This is because it shows not that we have the most spirit, but that we have the most love for our school. Winning the spirit stick is given to the class that loves St. Marks the most. Naturally, the students want to show their caring for St. Marks. So don't think spirit has nothing to do with St. Marks because it is most crucial to the happiness of the student body.
Spirit week, besides the last week of school, is probably the best week of the school year. I don't really agree with you that you "don't get" spirit week because it is for the students to celebrate their own classes. I love it because I get to dress down and mess around the whole week and that is why, I think, most of the other students like it as well. The pep rally is also a great source of showing spirit just like the other activities. It pits freshman against seniors, sophomores against juniors in a cheering battle from which the prize is the spirit stick. For the two years I have been here, the seniors had won the spirit stick and have always crushed the competition. This is why I like spirit week and it should stay this way forever.
Spirit Week is by far the best week out of the whole school year. It gives students the oppurtunity to be excited about something, and have something fun to do. The different themes for each grade help each grade unite, and it's also an oppurtunity for each grade to spend time together, especially since we have mixed lunches this year, and what's the point in competing for a spirit week when every grade has the same theme and song? The different activites of Spirit Week make the week even better and more exciting. Sure, pajama day has nothing to do with St. Marks, but it's something the whole school of St. Marks has fun doing. It shows school spirit and unity when the whole school shows up looking ridiculus in pajamas. Also, im sure all the students would be happy to sing the alma mater at the end of the pep rally, but how can we when we don't know it? We are taught it one day freshmen year and then are expected to know it.
Spirit Week is great how it is. Spirit week gives students the reminder of how great St. Marks is. They get to dress up to different themes and sing class songs. I think the students need a theme so their is a competition aomng the classes. It also helps students decide what to wear to support St. Marks and their respective class. The song each class is a staple on how untied the class atcually is. If everyone sings and supports it you know that your class is very strong. These songs and cheers can be a very moving expirence; to hear your class be as loud as they can is great. A difference in themes and songs makes each class different as special. It needs to be that was so that each class isn't doing the same thing; so there is variety and memories made during this wonderful week.
Spirit Week, in my opinion, is the best week of the year. I do understand your argument, but I am going to have to be part of the 98% that disagrees with you. The class themes are really random and ridiculous, but they give students a chance to be creative and to come together as a grade. The students in each grade really join together when they decorate the floats, the cafeteria wall, and make up the class song and cheer. The competition and rivalry between the grades is really fun and exciting. I think that singing a school unity song and a St. Mark’s fight song would be a good idea, but not for the whole pep rally. I don’t think that students would get as pumped up if there wasn’t the competition between the grades. As for the days leading up to spirit day, they may not have to do with spirit, but the whole school has a good time participating in the activities. Wearing the green and gold T-shirts that they sell us do show school spirit, so I don’t see how there could be a problem with that. I really enjoy being able to just roll out of bed on pajama day, wearing jeans on jeans’ day, and thinking of things to add to my uniform on accessory day. Even after reading your argument, I still don’t think that spirit week should be altered in any way.
jrd blue
im on the fence about the entire spirit week deal. spirit week can be fun, until the entire so called "student council" takes things to far with cheesy dress down days and games that are for 10 year olds. i agree with you about how the dress down days should be more laid back, and they shouldnt have to be so loud about the spirit they have for saint marks. we show our school spirit when we support teams at games or tryout for teams or join clubs...not when we strip our t shirts off and paint our chests with our graduating year. but then again, at certain times, the vibrant attitude is needed. and is appreciated to those who are trying to make things work. its almost taken as a standing ovation to the student council to see people following the rules of spirit week and screaming all over the gym. i think spirt week should be a little bit more laid back in all, but i also do not mind the loudness and enthusiasm we bring to the school
I agree with you on the fact that spirit week seems to have less spirited, and seems to be more of a week with a bunch of random days in it. Spirit should be about supporting our school in every possible way we can. Wearing the school colors, going to school games and activities, participating in homecoming decorations, these are all things that could be considered school spirit. Other than supporting our school, spirit week should also be about supporting eachother, no matter the class, in everything we do. We can still be fun and crazy at the pep rally, but does making a song to mock the other classes truely epitomize what spirit week is all about. I believe that spirit should be all about the pride that one shows in his or her school. This is what spirit week should be like.
I agree with you on the fact that spirit week seems to have less spirited, and seems to be more of a week with a bunch of random days in it. Things such as pajama day and accessory day just dont make sense when we are tryin to support our school. I also agree that we should keep the dress down days ,and i also think that we should angle other days towards more St. Marks related things rather than mismatching our clothes. Spirit should be about supporting our school in every possible way we can. Wearing the school colors, going to school games and activities, participating in homecoming decorations, these are all things that could be considered school spirit. Other than supporting our school, spirit week should also be about supporting eachother, no matter the class, in everything we do. We can still be fun and crazy at the pep rally, but does making a song to mock the other classes truely epitomize what spirit week is all about. I believe that spirit should be all about the pride that one shows in his or her school. This is what spirit week should be like.
I think that spirit week is awesome. It is a week where all kids can dress up funny and get a reason to scream as loud as they can. It does separate us as separate classes, but ultimately i think that it unites us as a school. The themes are pretty cool i think. They allow us to be creative competitively against each other, and decorate our school in the process. I think that the songs are a bit stupid. It just seems like no one really gets into them, and they just end up sounding dumb unless someone spent a lot of time making sure it is really good. I think that the pep rally is great. It gives us a chance to yell and show our spartan spirit.
Overall i think that spirit week is a pretty cool thing and i think that everyone enjoys it, and for good reason
There are many ups and downs to spirit week, but I think that ultimately it is a good thing for school spirit. By letting the students dress down it allows them to feel more comfortably in the school, if they are more comfortable they will enjoy it more, if they enjoy the school, they will be respectful to it. Unfortunately it can turn out badly during the pep rally when things get out of hand and people start to rip down posters leave the gym a mess. But spirit week does give s something to look forward to in the beginning of the year, and once it comes the whole school just seems more easy going and likable. I am really glad that we have spirit week and I think it benefits everyone and the school spirit as a whole, even if it does get out of hand.
Spirit week is the best week of the year. You get to dress down, wear silly costumes, and dye your hair green on friday. What could be better? As Mr. Fiorelli pointed out, it should be about celebrating St. Mark's. However, I feel we do that every day of the year. In theolgy of our freshmen year we learned about the origin, name, and history of the school. We also learned our alma mater. In that case, spirit week is the only week where we can celebrate St. Mark's in other ways. On these days it's not all about green and gold, but about how you show your school spirit in other ways like participation. (Green and Gold is saved for Friday) Therefore, in some cases I can agree with Mr. Fiorelli about St. Mark's spirit, in others I would have to say the entire student body has St. Mark's spirit throughout the year.
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