At the heart of our school’s enthusiasm, the members of the Spirit Committee play a vital role in planning the theme days that bring students together. Organizing these events may seem simple, but it requires careful planning, collaboration and creativity to ensure they are inclusive and engaging for everyone.
“Essentially you create a list, I made a list of all the theme days I could think of,” sophomore Brooke Oatman said. “There are so many different theme days, but sometimes [they can be misinterpreted] or someone might not be able to [participate] due to financial reasons.”
Due to these considerations, the members of the Spirit Committee must evaluate each potential idea and receive approval from school administration before finalizing the themes.
“[We] have to go to the AP’s to make sure [the themes] are approved. That’s why a lot of the times [the themes] are kind of generic, because we know people can do them,” Oatman said.
Beyond selecting themes, organizing spirit days is a team effort that involves multiple student organizations. The Spirit Committee collaborates with other clubs/ committees within Student Council to make sure events are well-planned and widely promoted.
“Different people work on them. I created the basketball theme days, but I collaborated with the Pride and Patriotism Committee within the Student Council. For the Friday Night theme days, Student Council, Pals, and Cheer [all work together],” Oatman said.
Finding exciting and unique themes is another challenge. While some themes are traditional such as the color-outs, others require more thought and creativity. For Oatman, social media plays a substantial role in shaping new ideas and staying up to date with the current online trends.
“I get [inspiration] from social media. One of the easiest ones that everybody knows is the color-outs,” Oatman said. “I [also] go off of the theme days that we’ve done in the past and see if we want to [repeat them] or add a twist to them.”
Despite the committee’s efforts, one of the most prominent conflicts is getting students to participate. Many students may enjoy spirit days but forget about them–especially after football season– while others may be completely unaware that they are happening at all.
“Honestly, that’s been one of the harder struggles, because people are always [saying], ‘I didn’t know the theme days,’” Oatman said.
To tackle this issue, the Spirit Committee has been working on ways to spread awareness. Social media and relying on word-of-mouth to enlist the help of other student organizations has been the main technique of getting students to participate.
“I try to post on social media and get other clubs to post it too so that the student body knows,” Oatman said. “In classes, I’ll talk to the people I’m close to, [then] I tell them to tell other people.”
Ultimately, Oatman hopes that spirit days do more than add fun to the school year. She hopes to create a sense of community and pride among students. By participating in these events, students can connect with one another and continue to build school spirit.
“I just hope to make everybody feel included. Whether that be through theme days, [students] can connect with people that are also dressing up,” Oatman said. “[I want] people to acknowledge all of the amazing things our school is doing, because our school has so much to offer.”
Through creativity, dedication, and teamwork, the Spirit Committee is committed to strengthening school pride and creating a connected student body. With each theme day, they are proving that school spirit isn’t entirely about what you wear, but also the shared experiences that create memories that last beyond high school.
