Spring Spirit Week cut down

    “There have always been three spirit weeks since I started teaching here in 2004,” said SGA sponsor and science teacher Abbie Kahn. Although, this was not the case for the 07-08 school year. Traditionally, the spring pep rally is preceded by four consecutive “spirit” days, but the administrative team decided to break from tradition and only approve the pep rally on Friday April 4.

    “The administrative team cut spirit week because of all the testing,” said Director of Student Activities Angelo Hilios, “[We believed] that one spirit weeks were enough.” Hilios further explained how a spring Spirit Week would distract students from testing and disrupt the educational process. “We thought it would be too much going on,” said Hilios.

    “I understand that it can be a distraction in some respects, if it is approached the wrong way,” said Kahn. “If you can choose appropriate days, I don’t understand how it can be a distraction.”

    Many members of the SGA believed that the administration had cut Spirit Week because they thought the students lacked spirit.
The SGA organizes the majority of spirit based activities such as Battle of the Classes, schoolwide dances (not including prom) and most recently the clothing drive.

    “Little things like spirit days make school more fun,” said spirit day committee leader and junior Tsedeye Daniel, “students enjoy coming to school more.”

    Both members of the SGA and the administration agree that school spirit is an integral aspect of making the high school experience an enjoyable one.

    “School spirit is extremely important, especially with a high ESOL and immigrant populations,” said Kahn, “[everyone] feels a sense of pride in their school, it doesn’t matter what country you are from or what language you speak. Any kid can wear pajamas to school.”

    “I definitely think that school spirit is important to a community, but our school is very apathetic,” said SGA President and senior Ngan Hoang. “It’s unfair [to cut spirit week] becase the students enjoy it.”

    Assistant Principal James Carayiannis, a member of the administrative team and a regular member at the administrative meetings held weekly, believes that school spirit is important, but that AHS students are not engaged.

    “I was an advocate for cutting back [Spirit Week],” Carayiannis, “A spirit week before Homecoming makes sense. It just seems anticlimactic. It’s just not much to get excited about at a spring pep rally.”

    Carayiannis, explained that at the administrative meetings, activities are presented by Hilios and then discussed laboriously among the administrative team to ensure the best interest of the students.

    Final decisions are made by a vote by all members of the administrative team, Carayiannis was not present for the vote on Spirit Week.

    “I’m an advocate for school spirit,” said Carayiannis, “I would love to see the cafeteria packed with red and white. We just don’t see any participation, but we don’t want kids to think we are trying to crush their spirit.”

    “The administration can’t complain about a lack of school spirit when they cut the opportunities for students to express their school spirit as a whole,” said Hoang.

    She admitted that a lack of participation was an important factor and suggested that “Leadership [students] should be more enthusiatic.”

    “There is no tangible evidence [of school spirit] if no one participates,” said Kahn. “If kids want spirit weeks they have to participate.”

    Kahn ceded the argument that some spirit days can be a distraction in classrooms, but said that “class rules don’t change on spirit days, neither do school rules.”