Spirit Week
October 24, 2017
Like a lot of Mondays, for most of us, it signals the beginning of a new week as we try to force ourselves out of bed and find the energy to make it through the first day back from our weekends. As always, we start the morning with Mrs Cossack’s usual alliteration of A days and B days; yet, this time something is different- one announcement peaks the interest of the student body as their eyes light up with exuberance. Yes, it is the announcement of Spirit Week in the foreseeable future, and for those who enjoy the break from the humdrum cycle of the usual week, they prepare their outfits and nuances to elicit awe out of their peers.
However, this was not always the case: the Spirit Week we now come to enjoy was not always part of the Homecoming tradition here in Pat-Med. After sitting down with current day counselor Mrs. Goldfader- and alumni of the building- I was able to gather intriguing information that not many are probably aware of. As a former student and advisor- 1994 and 1997- she has seen the evolution and progression that the department has taken to spicing up the unique aspects of Homecoming that our school has always tried to embody. While no finite date was specified, she did inform me that Spirit Week started in the late 1980’s, and the reason for its inclusion was to be a prelude to the Homecoming semantics and begin to get that excitement building. While history is always enticing, what I really wanted to know was how the dynamic of the students has either changed, or stagnated as the years have progressed; to my knowledge, it has only become more and more popular. After inquisiting Mrs. Goldfader about this, knowing that she has seen the involvement through all her years, with a smile, she passionately stated it has “gotten stronger than ever.” Moreover, she added onto this by saying the school spirit here is “rare- the amount of spirit our school displays is incredible.”
Out of curiosity, though, I was wondering if the student body had any ideas themselves on additional Spirit Week themes. They came up with ideas like “crazy shoes” day, dress as a teacher day, dress as a favorite TV/movie character, and more. Check out the chart to the left for more ideas and poll results.