As Malden High School, as a whole, prepared for the Annual Pep Rally before Thanksgiving break, the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior class competed to gain as many points as possible prior to the Pep Rally activities.
Other than the points the spirit team from each grade earns during the activities at Pep Rally, the amount of participants for each grade and the amount of cans each grade contributes to the National Honors Society (NHS) Can Drive, convert into points that are also factored into each grade’s scores at the end of Pep Rally.
For all the five days of Spirit Week, homeroom teachers were to count how many students participated and record it. Rankings of the grades, from most participants to least participants, were announced during the morning announcements on the following school day.
Thursday, November 21st was Twin Day. Students were to wear the same or similar clothing as another student. The only way homeroom teachers were allowed to give students the point was if they either got a photo with their twin prior to homeroom in the morning or if their twin was in the same homeroom. On Twin Day, the junior class had the most participants. In second place was the senior class. In third place was the freshman class. In fourth place was the sophomore class.
Friday, November 22nd was Decade Day, the newest addition to Spirit Week. Students were to dress following styles and trends from decades that is not the current decade. On Decade Day, the senior class had the most participants. In second place was the junior class. In third place was the freshman class. In fourth place was the sophomore class.
NHS President, Ezra Kruckenberg, explained that Decade Day was an idea suggested by a NHS member. After the NHS brainstormed other potential ideas, they “created and distributed a survey to gather some information,” in which they used to determine what additions would be made and what traditions in previous years would be replaced. From the survey the NHS saw that results suggest that “Decade Day would be a successful replacement for Meme Day.”
The Class of 2022 Adviser, Daniel Jurkowski, expressed that he likes the idea of Decade Day, as “it gives students an opportunity to dress as a character from an early favorite childhood movie or tv show, maybe a famous musician or historical figure.” He added that “it also gives the staff an opportunity to reminisce on the attire they grew up with.”
The Class of 2021 Adviser, Cassandra Poole, explained that she thinks it is “a fun new idea to add to the roster of spirit week.” She enjoyed dressing up in her 50’s inspired outfit. Poole’s favorite part of Decade Day was “trying to guess what decade people were supposed to be.”
The Class of 2020 Adviser, Caitlin Quinn, mentioned that when she was in high school, her school has Decade Day as one of the Spirit Week traditions and “it was always [her] favorite day.” She believes that “[it is] just really fun to play around with different decades.”
Monday, November 25th, was Pajama Day, where students and teachers were encouraged to wear their pajamas to school. On Pajama Day, the senior class had the most participants. In second place was the sophomore class. In third place was the junior class. In fourth place was the freshman class.
Tuesday, November 26th was Wacky Tacky Day. Students and teachers were encouraged to wear the wackiest and tackiest pieces of clothing and belongings that they could find. On Wacky Tacky Day, the junior class had the most participants. In second place was the senior class. In third place was the sophomore class. In fourth place was the freshman class.
Wednesday, November 27th was Blue and Gold Day and also Pep Rally Day. Students and teachers were to show off their school spirit by wearing Blue and Gold colored clothing and accessories or Malden apparel. On Blue and Gold Day, the senior class had the most participants. In second place was the sophomore class. In third place was the junior class. In fourth place was the freshman class.
Jurkowski explained that the “enthusiasm is very high,” adding that the “Class [of 2022] officers have been doing a great job promoting and encouraging students to participate.” Although it is his first year as a part of the Malden High staff and as Class Adviser, he has coached at Malden High for five years and is excited to experience his first Malden High Pep Rally, since his players are “always hyping it up.” Jurkowski expresses that “[it is] a great tradition and really important for the overall togetherness and morale of the school.”
Poole had faith in the Class of 2021, but also thought that the seniors had a good chance of winning, as she stated that “it is their last year and [they will want to] go all out.” She also knew that the Class of 2021 would put up a good fight.
Quinn stated that she feels that the Class of 2020 is “always slacking up until the last couple of days and then they usually step it up.” She also added that for the first four days the “seniors are usually in the running but never hold that number one spot,” but then on the last day, Blue and Gold Day, “seniors show the most support and spirit.”
Being Quinn’s last year managing the Class of 2020 for Spirit Week and Pep Rally, she described the feeling as “bittersweet,” adding that even before being a Class Adviser, she loved watching the event at Pep Rally. When becoming a Class Adviser she found that working so closely with the Spirit Team has allowed her to meet new students every year. Quinn concludes that despite being her last year with the Class of 2020 “[she] is looking forward to it for sure.”
