The pep rally was not boring? Starting this school year with a new principal, the question buzzing around the school was: “Are the pep rallies going to be better this year?” The returning students of Hillgrove had lost hope and the new students did not know what to expect. Turns out, the first pep rally was, in fact, better than previous years. But what changed? Was it the new senior leadership? Or maybe our new principal? Actually, it was both. It was a mixture of things, all coming together to highlight something that students at Hillgrove have lately been lacking in: school spirit.
According to the Student Body President, Lauren Stenson, school spirit is, “...having pride in your school and wanting to do things that can improve your school.” Our principal, Mrs.Stewart, says that, “School spirit has to do with school pride. From being proud to be apart of the team, to being proud to be a Hawk. What that means is it involves commitment, dedication, loyalty, respect, but most of all it involves action. School spirit is also speaking positively about your school at all times; you are always on the positive when it gets to your school. Even if something wasn’t up to par for you, your school spirit is reflected in your response about it. So school spirit has to do with what you say and do, and how proud you are, not only of being apart of a team, but of your school.”
Lauren explains that, “ I think it’s important for schools to show school spirit because that’s how you have experiences; that’s where all the good memories come from. It’s when you go to the games, when you get involved with clubs; it’s when you like being at school. When you don’t have school spirit: you don’t want to be here, you don’t make it fun for you and that’s when people have bad experiences.” As Principal Stewart puts it, “When I hear “school spirit” I hear someone that’s dressing out on dress-out days, present at events, cheering people on, building, encouraging and inspiring players and students; whatever the event is your supporting them 100 percent. … It is extremely important because it actually impacts student achievement. If you look at schools where people want to be, achievement is higher; versus a school where there’s not really a whole lot of value in that.” Logan Mossor, the freshman S.G.A. president, says, “I feel like week by week, things can get kind of monotonous and anyone who's willing to brighten the school through their actions is definitely making it a better place.”
Showing your school spirit and the pride you have in your school can be something as big as wearing a full on costume for a game theme or something as small as giving your fellow students affirming, encouraging words that might lift their day. Logan describes how he shows school spirit, stating, “On the spirit days, on the weekend, I like to just go all out, you know get that sombrero and everything.” Lauren shows school spirit, “...through cheer, through track, through S.G.A., the new spirit campaign where I’m trying to get people to dress up on Friday’s, and I go all out every Friday to show school spirit. It’s fun!” Mrs.Stewart shows school spirit by, “...talking to my students in a very positive way 90 percent of the time; leaving the other ten percent for those times that are critique conversations. Ninety percent of the time I want my students to know that I care, I see you, you’re going somewhere, there’s nothing that’s too hard for you, and you can do this. I use a lot of affirmation to show my school spirit. Another things is, if I can dress out and I can be a part of the peppiness for the pep rallies, then that’s what I want to do.”
Taking these small things into consideration and stepping out of your comfort zone to make it a point to do these things deliberately throughout your week, can really improve the overall spirit and vibe of Hillgrove. You do not have to wait for Fridays to show that you support and care about your school; you do not even have to spend money to do it. By simply having clean fun with your friends and including other people, you are automatically making a difference in how this school is viewed by students, staff, and others. By being open-minded and hearing out suggestions on ways to have a good time, you are resembling school pride. Principal Stewart expresses that, “I feel like we have to hear each other. We have to learn how to be positive and we have to build our school spirit to the point to where we are proud of our school.” And although we have improved so far, there is so much farther we could go Hawks. Let’s be dedicated to exhibiting what our school is all about; and let’s celebrate those that do so.
According to the Student Body President, Lauren Stenson, school spirit is, “...having pride in your school and wanting to do things that can improve your school.” Our principal, Mrs.Stewart, says that, “School spirit has to do with school pride. From being proud to be apart of the team, to being proud to be a Hawk. What that means is it involves commitment, dedication, loyalty, respect, but most of all it involves action. School spirit is also speaking positively about your school at all times; you are always on the positive when it gets to your school. Even if something wasn’t up to par for you, your school spirit is reflected in your response about it. So school spirit has to do with what you say and do, and how proud you are, not only of being apart of a team, but of your school.”
Lauren explains that, “ I think it’s important for schools to show school spirit because that’s how you have experiences; that’s where all the good memories come from. It’s when you go to the games, when you get involved with clubs; it’s when you like being at school. When you don’t have school spirit: you don’t want to be here, you don’t make it fun for you and that’s when people have bad experiences.” As Principal Stewart puts it, “When I hear “school spirit” I hear someone that’s dressing out on dress-out days, present at events, cheering people on, building, encouraging and inspiring players and students; whatever the event is your supporting them 100 percent. … It is extremely important because it actually impacts student achievement. If you look at schools where people want to be, achievement is higher; versus a school where there’s not really a whole lot of value in that.” Logan Mossor, the freshman S.G.A. president, says, “I feel like week by week, things can get kind of monotonous and anyone who's willing to brighten the school through their actions is definitely making it a better place.”
Showing your school spirit and the pride you have in your school can be something as big as wearing a full on costume for a game theme or something as small as giving your fellow students affirming, encouraging words that might lift their day. Logan describes how he shows school spirit, stating, “On the spirit days, on the weekend, I like to just go all out, you know get that sombrero and everything.” Lauren shows school spirit, “...through cheer, through track, through S.G.A., the new spirit campaign where I’m trying to get people to dress up on Friday’s, and I go all out every Friday to show school spirit. It’s fun!” Mrs.Stewart shows school spirit by, “...talking to my students in a very positive way 90 percent of the time; leaving the other ten percent for those times that are critique conversations. Ninety percent of the time I want my students to know that I care, I see you, you’re going somewhere, there’s nothing that’s too hard for you, and you can do this. I use a lot of affirmation to show my school spirit. Another things is, if I can dress out and I can be a part of the peppiness for the pep rallies, then that’s what I want to do.”
Taking these small things into consideration and stepping out of your comfort zone to make it a point to do these things deliberately throughout your week, can really improve the overall spirit and vibe of Hillgrove. You do not have to wait for Fridays to show that you support and care about your school; you do not even have to spend money to do it. By simply having clean fun with your friends and including other people, you are automatically making a difference in how this school is viewed by students, staff, and others. By being open-minded and hearing out suggestions on ways to have a good time, you are resembling school pride. Principal Stewart expresses that, “I feel like we have to hear each other. We have to learn how to be positive and we have to build our school spirit to the point to where we are proud of our school.” And although we have improved so far, there is so much farther we could go Hawks. Let’s be dedicated to exhibiting what our school is all about; and let’s celebrate those that do so.