We're All In This Together--Eagles Prepare to Celebrate Unity With Spirit Week
By Hayley Rea--Eagle Assistant Editor
As spring weather approaches, our Eagles will be kicking off the season next week with a classic event: Spirit Week.
The Spirit Days are as follows:
Monday, 4/26 - Highlighter Day - Dress in neon colors!
Tuesday, 4/27 - Tropical Paradise Day - Wear your summer and beach attire!
Wednesday, 4/28 - Lazy Day - Wear your sweatpants, fleecewear, pjs, and comfy clothes!
Thursday, 4/29 - Dress to Impress Day - Dress up in your favorite dressy outfit!
Friday, 4/30 - Foutz Friday - Wear your Coach Foutz tee, yellow, gray, or workout gear to show support for Coach Foutz and then come to the Movement Minute 120 workout after school from 4:00-6:00pm.
“[Spirit Week is] a great way to show school spirit and keep things positive,” Marsha Lopez, cheer coach and Spirit Club sponsor, said.
The decision on themes was a collaborative effort among Spirit Club, the Varsity cheerleaders, and SCA.
“Ms. Lopez, the sponsor of the Spirit Club, wanted to do themes FCHS had never done before, so that’s how these themes were chosen,” Kobe Levisy, a junior SCA representative, explained about the process.
Because of Covid and the inability to have a conjoining pep rally, some are unsure of how much participation there will be.
“I feel like 1/3 of our student body participates in Spirit Week and I do think that they participated more when we had an actual Pep Rally day,” Ashly Sigmon, an SCA faculty sponsor, explained.
However, there are still high hopes for student body participation and anticipation for outfit creativity.
“Because we’re all here together now, I’m really hoping (and expecting) to see our Eagle pride and spirit come out in a big way! I just love the unity that it promotes, and I love seeing how creative our students can be,” Lopez commented.
Although inspiring creativity is the basis of Spirit Week, our coordinators also try to include some less involved days for those who want to participate, but have less planning time.
“The participation seems to be higher on days that don't require a lot of prep time (students may have a lot of camo items or sports items). I do agree that Spirit Week brings a sense of unity to our student body, especially when the Spirit Days are ‘low stakes’ like a color day (where everyone would have a way to participate),” Sigmon replied.
In the past, the effects of Spirit Week on our campus have been hard to miss as students have participated and allowed their creativity to flow.
“I think that Spirit Week impacts our student body in multiple ways,” Ryan Mollin, a senior SCA representative, explained. “For one, it helps create a sense of unity among peers. Furthermore, I believe that it helps us students release stress. Dressing up to a theme and having fun is always a welcomed change to the school year.”
Some of the coordinators for the upcoming Spirit Week view this event as a way to escape the ongoing impacts of Covid as well.
“It’s a small bit of normalcy for this hectic school year, so I really hope that everyone participates,” Levisy commented. “With the pandemic, most students, if not all, are lacking in motivation and pep. So, it’s led to a small decline in Spirit Week participation. Nonetheless, I do think that things are getting better, so hopefully everyone will start to participate again!”
There are also many other reasons that bring those on staff to believe that this Spirit Week will be one of our biggest.
“We are really hoping that we will have lots of participation for this Spirit Week since it’s the first time this school year we’ve all been in person together and also it’s the seniors’ last ever FCHS Spirit Week,” Lopez elaborated on her expectations for participation.
Another part of Spirit Week that many people look forward to is the fun pictures taken to remember the occasion.
“Personally, my favorite part about Spirit Week is taking pictures with all of my friends who dress up. Our high school years fly by quicker than we can imagine, so it’s important to me that I document as much as possible so that I can have a bunch of fun, tangible memories to look back on,” Levisy said with a smile.
Within SCA specifically, the planning of events like Spirit Week has been more difficult than in previous years due to the complicated nature of Covid, but there is still optimism about planning other activities.
“SCA events have been impacted heavily by COVID due to limitations on the number of individuals that could attend events. We have tried to do some events virtually but we are also getting back in the swing this Spring and will be working a couple Open Mic Nights and a Senior Movie night that will hopefully make the kids feel a sense of ‘normal’,” Sigmon explained.
However, being back in school every day without the hybrid schedule has improved some of the difficulties within SCA when it comes to event organization.
“One of the few benefits of being at school five days a week is the fact that we no longer have to worry about trying to find two fun themes for both A day and B day students,” Levisy replied. “Everyone has the opportunity to participate in each of them, and it’s such a good, relieving thing.”
Overall, there is a great deal of positivity from our student body representatives about Spirit Week participation next week.
“Hopefully, Covid will not impact participation in the slightest. Since it is an independent effort to match a theme, I think we will see the same amount of participation as previous years if not more now that we haven’t been able to host normal activities,” Mollin elaborated.
Students and faculty alike have shown great excitement and interest in the themes for the upcoming Spirit Week.
“This year, we haven’t gotten to complete a lot of projects, but we’ve still completed numerous awesome things! Our school is nothing short of awesome when it comes to spirit,” Levisy concluded.