Spring spirit week concluded by teachers’ narrow victory over students in pep rally basketball game

It was a weird week, between the relief of finishing the third quarter and the eager impatience for spring break to arrive. Students did have somewhere to channel their restless energy though: spring spirit week, concluded by an energetic student-vs-teacher pep rally basketball game.

The four-day week included spirit days ranging from Twin Day to Salad Dressing Day and prompting varying levels of participation from the student body. “I only saw a handful of people who did them,” junior Gracelyn Daniel said. “But the people who did them, they were really clever.” 

“It had some participation, but not a lot,” junior Anthony Tran said. Many students came equipped with aprons and spatulas for Wednesday’s Soccer Moms and BBQ Dads theme, while seniors embraced the idea of Greek salad dressing with togas and white dresses on Friday. 

Friday wrapped up spirit week with an adjusted to schedule to accommodate the pep rally at the end of the day.

“My whole day was just really easy going and even the altered schedule was nice,” Daniel said. After shortened classes, students flooded down to the main gym to watch a handful of teachers and students play a short but eventful game of basketball.

Senior Tae Herron signed up to play in the game after seeing a post about it on SCA president Alex Ahedo’s Instagram story. “Score on teachers is my role,” Herron said.

Herron, who was previously a part of the winter break pep rally, was determined to win the game. “I participated in musical chairs,” he said. “I didn’t do so good, I didn’t win it. That was my goal. So this time, my goal is to beat the teachers.”

The students, coached by players from the varsity basketball team, led the teachers definitively to begin, ending the first of two seven-minute halves with a resounding 12-4 lead. While the players took a halftime water break to regroup and get their substitutions in order, the game’s commentators, seniors Herbie Hermann and Donovan Claybrooks, took a break from providing play-by-play remarks to bring out a few spectators to attempt to shoot a basket from half-court. None were successful, but their efforts were met with encouraging applause from the rest of the crowd.

When the teams took the court in the second half, the teachers began to build their comeback, although the students remained in the lead. The second half was just as spirited as the first, with plenty of turnovers and attempted three-pointers. Every time it looked like a three-point shot was headed straight for the net, students all across the bleachers held up three fingers in anticipation, then let out a collective cheer or groan, depending on whether the shot was converted. 

As the clock ticked on, many students started paying less attention to the game, but the teachers continued to close the gap, getting within only a few points of the students. But the game went on, and the players were no less focused. With 26 seconds remaining, business education teacher Stephane Longchamp made a basket that brought the score to 17-16 in their favor. The students scrambled into a final effort to regain the lead, but the buzzer sounded and the bell rang, cementing the teachers’ win and the end of spirit week – and signaling the long-awaited beginning of spring break.

“A pep rally is the perfect way to go into spring break,” Daniel said.