Student Council sponsors Christmas Spirit Week every year and does a food drive to support a local food pantry. During this week, HHS students dress up according to the calendar advisor Hilary Ford creates.
Monday was Pajama day and pajama day is always my favorite by far because I can feel warm and cozy like I would in my own home or in my bed. Pajama day is a good day to include in spirit week because students feel comfortable while they’re in school and that’s why pajama day is the most participated in both here and at other schools. According to The A-Blast, the school newspaper and website for Annandale High School in Northern Virginia, “One spirit day that’s usually a fan favorite was Pajama Day. During this day, everyone gets to show up to school in the comfort and coziness of their pajamas.”
Tuesday was Ugly Christmas Sweater Day I really don’t enjoy it because a majority of the sweaters are scratchy and just very uncomfortable. Not only that but I feel there is no point in buying an ugly Christmas sweater to wear for one day to school and then it just hangs in my closet for the rest of the year. Some students are less fortunate and they may feel left out on ugly sweater day because their family may not have the funds to spend on a sweater for them to wear to school for one day.
Wednesday was “All I want for Christmas is You” Day and students are supposed to dress up with friends and take a Christmas card photo together. I think this day was fun because of all the different friend groups taking pictures together. According to Business Insider school spirit weeks are inclusive welcoming school spirit days can bring much needed fun, joy, and levity to the students’ everyday life they also say that school spirit weeks continue because they help make students that feel isolated in school make new friendships. While some students may make new friends others may not because they still feel too isolated and they don’t want to leave their comfort zone so they may not dress up for spirit week.
Thursday’s theme was “ We are ready for Christmas vacation!” Students wore Christmas beach gear to school. I feel that this day will be interesting because people are going to be wearing clothes that would be appropriate for the beach, and it’s going to be freezing outside. I personally don’t think I will be participating on Thursday because it’s going to be very cold already and I don’t want to wear beach attire. This may be another day similar to the ugly sweater day because some students may not have beach wear and may not be able to go to the store and find beach wear, especially because it is winter.
Friday is “Deck the halls!” Students wore red and green, and had a pep rally. Everyone at the pep rally was cheering, and there were games played. The seniors won all of them. Our pep rallies are always very competitive when it comes to class games. Red and Green day could potentially be more friendly to all students because they can wear everyday clothes and fit in as long as they’re red or green.
Spirit weeks always have their pros and cons. While they’re fun, and usually based on a holiday, and they bring some students together, income barriers and people feeling left out are still drawbacks. I’ve personally seen many instances where a student has been made fun of for their costume even when they tried to dress up the best that they could. I feel spirit weeks should consider these problems when the themes are chosen so that everyone can join in the fun if they want to.
