The tradition of Spirit Week began at Wayne Hills High School 40 years ago, becoming one of the most memorable yearly events at our school. Spirit Week is a week-long competition where all four grade levels compete in various events to earn the most points. Students can accumulate points through fundraising, participating in theme-based dress-up days, and at the Spirit rally on Friday. Each grade is assigned a color: freshmen wear pink, sophomores wear green, juniors wear purple, and seniors wear orange. To earn points, students follow the specific daily themes from Monday through Thursday, then on Friday, everyone wears their grade´s color for the Spirit rally.
Throughout the week, grades participate in several fundraising events, including Penny Wars. Each grade has two jugs— a net positive and a net negative jug. The goal is to have the most pennies in your positive jug and the least amount of change in your negative jug.
Students are encouraged to put their spare change into their own grade level jug to help their grade, or strategically put change into another grade’s negative jug. Another important way to help your grade is by participating in the food drive, which collects canned and boxed goods for the local food bank. Students also donate grocery gift cards or make a cash donation. Together, this brings the community for a meaningful cause.
While Spirit Week is a fun event, it is important to remember the purpose behind it: bringing our community together in support of one another. All food drive donations go to families in need and local food pantries.
Gift baskets are created from donated items for families who need help with a special Thanksgiving meal. Last year, we achieved astonishing goals— collecting over 12,000 food items and giving more than $8000 in gift cards back to the community. This year, we aim to reach even greater heights.
The 40th Spirit Week takes place from November 17th through the 21st. The themes this year are:
- Monday 11/17: Pajama Day
- Tuesday 11/18: USA Day
- Wednesday 11/19: Adam Sandler Day
- Thursday 11/20: Blackout
- Friday 11/21: Grade level color
I asked two juniors from Wayne Hills for their opinion on this year’s themes. Sabrina Linares shared, “I feel like we recycled USA day and Thursday is just dressing up as one color, which kind of blends into Friday’s theme.” Veronika Kuzyk had a more positive outlook, saying, “I think the themes this year are going to make the days leading up to the rally fun.”
Everyone is excited, especially for Adam Sandler day: a day where students can wear baggy and comfortable clothes. Hopefully, the participation rate increases this year, and we raise more money for the community. Don’t forget to come in before school to donate your nonperishable foods or contribute spare change for Penny Wars! Everything helps!
