On Monday, Sept. 23, students and staff kicked off homecoming week with their first spirit day. Monday was Jet Lagged in your Jammies! StuCo chose this spirit day to illustrate that students were arriving at a tropical destination, as Bronco’s in Paradise is the homecoming theme. The spirit day is popular amongst the students and always results in high involvement. MJ Bailey,12, was Monday’s winner along with other students.
This year StuCo awarded spirit day winners with a free homecoming ticket. In order to be considered for the best dressed contest, students gathered before school outside of the auditorium to be judged by teachers. Nathan Montgomery, 12, was Tuesday’s ‘Tacky Tourist’ winner. Montgomery is notorious for their spirit day outfits. He explained that he loves dressing up for spirit days, especially when he has an outfit that is perfect for the theme. His favorite spirit day was Surfers vs. Bikers because he had a bandana and sunglasses that set his outfit over the top. Unfortunately, Montgomery was only able to participate in one day of the best dress contest due to his morning band rehearsals.
Logan Alexander, 12, was also unable to attend the contest due to his college algebra class, but he still participated in the spirit days.
“Spirit days are important because they give you a reason to be excited to come to school,” Alexander said.
Alexander’s favorite spirit day was also Surfers vs. Bikers, not because of his outfit, but instead because Bob Metcalf, substitute teacher, wore his biker club jacket. Alexander explained that it is just as important for teachers to dress up as it is that students do.
Spirit days act as a tool for unification amongst students. If students participate then they feel more connected. Bailey used the ‘Jetlagged in your Jammies’ spirit day to showcase their homemade pajamas. This created an opportunity for Bailey to show off their talent and connect with other students with similar hobbies.
“With pep assembly days where you get to see the people with the face paint, and painted overalls and stuff like that. Since we are not always unified and a lot of things work at our own pace and we don’t have many group projects anymore, the different grades don’t really interact with each other. It gives us an opportunity to meet new people, honestly, because some people will walk up to you in the halls and say ‘hey I think your outfits cool’ or ‘oh what spirit day is it, even with the musical spirit days that they do it’s just a way to interact with people more,” Bailey said.
Spirit days are a long lasting homecoming tradition that lives in the heart in many students. Check out Dylan Estes’ homecoming gallery to see all the homecoming traditions in action.
