Students donning leather and flannels, bright neons and metallics, floral patterns, and velvet tracksuits flooded the campus this morning to welcome the first day of Spirit Week.

The Gym brimmed with chattering students, where a lunch period of games like Sharks and Minnows, Simon Says, and Knight, Mount, Carry occurred, pitting classes against each other for a chance to gather more points for their grade level

“I really enjoyed the school spirit of having everyone in the Gym together,” visual sophomore Ava Grave de Peralta said. “It was actually a lot of fun rooting for our team, for the sophomores to win even though we lost most of the games. It was really fun just having everyone there, the energy, and the screaming compared to last year especially.” 

After everyone settled down in their respective area in the Gym — each corner sectioned off for one grade — the SGA officers rounded up the participants for the first game and explained the rules of Sharks and Minnows. The “minnows” had to dart across the Gym while simultaneously avoiding getting tagged by the “sharks.” Once tagged, the eliminated minnow would join the shark population in tagging the remaining minnows. 

Initially, the minnows were hesitant and shuffled back and forth, but chants and screams from the bleachers eventually coaxed them out. Dance junior Jonelle Brinkley claimed victory for the juniors. 

Band sophomore Nihar Bhavsar signed up to play as one of the minnows. And although he seemed bitter about his loss since they, “not gonna lie, only tagged my shirt,” he shrugged it off and recalled having a positive experience overall.

“It was very intensive,” Bhavsar said. “Since I’m representing my grade, I want to win. And what was fun in particular was fine, as well. Seeing everyone, being able to play just, and represent your grade is an exhilarating emotion. It’s the excitement you get from it.”

The second game was Knight, Mount, Carry, where participants in pairs acted out the commands of “knight” (the first person kneels and second person places their hand on their head), “carry” (the first person picks up the second in their arms), “mount” (piggyback), and “hit the heck” (drop to the floor). The team with the slowest reaction is eliminated. 

In the end, it was down to one junior pair and two senior pairs. They were then commanded to “mount” while walking around and “hitting the deck.” However, the following command determined everything: “knight.” The junior team misinterpreted it as “mount,” immediately eliminating them and crowning seniors as champions of the game. 

“It was funny to watch all the groups rushing to jump into each other’s arms and like each other’s backs,” visual sophomore Ava Grave de Peralta said.

The third and final game was Simon Says. A large crowd of players was quickly reduced to two: communications freshman Jason Monaco and digital sophomore Nicole Caban. The final command was to see who could stand on one foot and touch their toes for the longest. Monaco lost his balance, resulting in a win for the sophomores. 

“It was all fun even though I got kicked out because my Chicken Dance was bad,” band senior Reymon Contrera Brito said after playing Simon Says. “I was trying to make a show out of it, entertain everyone, and have fun.”

The games in the Gym set the stage for the rest of the activities to come in the remaining days of Spirit Week.

“I love how competitive all the games we do at Dreyfoos are, but there’s still a friendly competition,” vocal sophomore Aileen Pereda said. “I really, really loved seeing that.”

Games will continue throughout the week to see which class will win the spirit stick.

“We can all express ourselves at Dreyfoos,” Contrera Brito said. “But, (Spirit Week) is a chance for us to just have fun. Just for us to go for it, to be weird, to be Dreyfoos.”