Spirit Week is usually a fun week that fills the hallways with energy and creativity, with students and staff dressing up according to the daily themes, creating an exciting atmosphere. With creative daily themes and a chance to break the dress code, it brings students together in festive ways. But even with the fun themes and a chance to show off creativity, many students chose not to participate, leaving the week feeling quieter than usual.
This year, the themes were Pajamas Day, Twin Day, Adam Sandler Day, Jersey Day and Spirit Day. “Students are surveyed to determine what dress up days they want for Homecoming week,” student council sponsor Jessica Catron explained.
Despite the fact that the themes were chosen by a panel of students, many have noticed a drop in participation. Hallways that are usually buzzing with energy felt a little quieter this year. While many students still joined in on the fun and went all out, others chose to sit out for various reasons.
Sophomore Addisson Borgel was among those who chose not to participate this year. “I did not dress up, because I just did not have anything to go with the themes,” she explained.
Many other students, as well as some staff members, also expressed the same reason for not participating. Leslie Murphy, GCHS English teacher, said “I’m not a huge sports fan, and I don’t have any jerseys in my closet.”
Others mentioned that they weren’t at school every day to join in on the activities. “I am only at school a few times a week, so I only dressed up for pajamas and spirit day,” senior Ava Collins mentioned.
Many students seemed to join in on the days with comfortable or easy-to-do themes, sometimes both. Catron agreed that the more relaxed days brought higher participation. “A lot of people wore PJs and dressed up like Adam Sandler.” she said. “Most people already have PJs, so it’s easy to dress up if you already own the clothing. A lot of people dressed like Adam Sandler because it was fun and new, and there are a lot of different ways to dress up like him.”
Borgel also acknowledged that the more flexible days encouraged more students to participate. She explained, “I saw most people dress up for Adam Sandler Day and honestly, it was the one that seemed the most fun. He dresses very comfortably. You can just put some stuff together and you can say you are Adam Sandler.”
Junior Ashley Rhodus said the best part of Spirit Week was dressing up with friends. “I dressed up for Twin, Adam Sandler and Jersey Day. I think those were the most fun and festive ones.” Rhodus also noticed that Twin Day had many friends dressing up. “I think it was the easiest day, plus it was also a fun theme.”
Although participation may have been lower, all three students agreed that the themes themselves were fun and good. “Adam Sandler Day was different and creative compared to last year,” Borgel said, and she appreciated the effort that went into coming up with creative ideas.
Still, both students and teachers had ideas for boosting participation in the future. “The themes should be more trendy,” Borgel suggested. “Maybe if they had a competition where you could win a prize, more people would join in.”
Catron had another thought. “I think more people would participate if the dress up days incorporated more normal items and they didn’t have to track down something extra,” she said. “I also think some people forget to dress up.”
