Students whipped out umbrellas and threw their hoods over their heads in the morning. By 12:30 p.m., they were singing their hearts out in the gym, feet stomping, hands swinging, hearts racing in anticipation for the Pep Rally to commence. The rain may have been able to wash away the chalk drawings on the sidewalk and cut short the annual Lip Dub, but it could not quell the school spirit seeping through students’ veins.

“Dreyfoos students work so incredibly hard throughout the entirety of the year, but especially during the third quarter,” Student Government Association (SGA) co-president and vocal senior Beau McDowell said. “Ending the quarter with such an amazing tradition that brings the student body together really helps alleviate stress and gets students excited for spring break.”

SGA started preparing for Spirit Week, including the Pep Rally, back in December. The first step was reaching out to the choreographers of the Generations, Powderpuff, and Pep Rally dances for each grade. Then, in January and February, Google Forms were sent out to determine game participants throughout the week. The final touches were added by SGA and each class council over the two weeks preceding Spirit Week. 

“In my four years on SGA, this is definitely the smoothest, most organized Spirit Week we’ve ever done,” McDowell said. “Delegating our tasks among the SGA officers has allowed for everybody on SGA to equally enjoy Spirit Week instead of certain officers being super stressed about planning and preparation.”

Three new games were added by SGA to the Pep Rally this year: the Box Stacking Game, Hungry Hippos, and the Inflatable Tower. McDowell said that selecting games for the event is always “trial and error” and that SGA wanted to add as many games as possible for this year’s Pep Rally.

“My favorite new game was definitely the Hungry Hippos,” visual sophomore Nia Nguyen said. “It was so fun seeing my friends slide along the gym floors. They should definitely keep that one for next year.”

In another effort to make this year’s Pep Rally stand out, communications senior Ava Fiala and digital senior Emily Tabora, the SGA vice presidents, asked students in the stands trivia questions about the history of the school during breaks in between games. Students that correctly answered the question received a piece of candy. 

“It’s a really helpful way for (SGA co-president and communications senior) Gavin (Murray) and I, who obviously just want to get the crowd hype, to not have to say the same chant over and over again,” McDowell said. “We wanted to try to mix it up and try to keep all of the students engaged.”

Right before the final results were announced, a group of teachers and administrators led by Principal Blake Bennett performed their own dance. This year, teachers danced to a Bad Bunny medley, with digital teacher Nicolas Angulo portraying Bad Bunny. Then, the assistant principals danced to “Wanna Be Starting Something” by Michael Jackson before the grand finale of “Abracadabra” by the Grammy-winning singer Lady Gaga, portrayed by Principal Bennett.

“It is so special to be able to do something fun for the kids,”  Principal Bennett said. “The faculty has to bring it just like students bring it every single day. All we wanted to do was make you guys proud, and I think we accomplished that.”

After eight Pep Rally games and a week full of events and opportunities to earn points, the seniors, yet again, won the spirit stick and bragging rights for the remainder of the school year.

“I’ve tried to make the most of my last Spirit Week by participating and dressing up every day,” dance senior Zachary Chodor said. “But, it’s also sad at the same time because I know I’m going to be reminiscing about these moments in a few years.”

Game Recap:

Queen’s Request

The Pep Rally kicked off with Queen’s Request, where Principal Bennett asked two students from each grade level to retrieve a specific item from the stands of their grade level. Each student then had to place the item in a “magical box” placed in the middle of the gym. The last student each round to place the correct item in the box and sit down on their respective corner of the gym floor was eliminated.

Results:

1. Freshmen
2. Seniors
3. Sophomores
4. Juniors

Mattress Sliding

The Mattress Sliding game came next, where four students from each grade competed head to head against another grade to advance to the final round. Each student belly flopped on a mattress in an effort to get the mattress to the other end of the gym. The first quartet to get their mattress to the other end of the gym and back advanced to the championship. The two losing grades competed in a third-place match.

Results:

1. Seniors
2. Juniors
3. Sophomores 
4. Freshmen 

Box Stacking 

A new addition to the Pep Rally’s slate of events, the Box Stacking Game, required four students from each grade to run into the middle of the gym and retrieve eight boxes that spelt out “I ♡  MAGIC!” They had to then stack the eight large boxes to correctly spell out that phrase, starting with the “I” block at the top and the “!” block at the bottom.

Results:

1. Seniors 
2. Juniors
3. Sophomores
4. Freshmen

Hungry Hippos

A duo from each grade worked together to collect as many colorful plastic balls from the center of the gym as possible. One student served as the “driver,” pushing the other student forwards and backwards on a dolly, while the other student served as the “hippo,” grabbing the balls with a plastic container and keeping them secure until they returned to their respective corner of the gym. The grade level with the most balls at the end of two minutes and 30 seconds won the game.

Results:

1. Juniors
2. Sophomores
3. Freshmen
4. Seniors

Mattress Rolling 

In this game, one student lay atop a mattress and was transported to the other side of the gym by riding on seven other students from their grade level, who were rolling on the gym floor underneath the mattress. The first team’s mattress to cross the finish line advanced to the final round. The two losing grades competed in a third-place match.

Results:

1. Seniors
2. Freshmen
3. Juniors
4. Sophomores

Musical Chairs

Musical Chairs came next, where two students from each grade level walked in a circle around a set number of chairs. The rules are simple: keep walking until the music stops. When the music did stop, each student had to scurry to sit in a chair. The student(s) who did not get a seat were eliminated at the end of each round.

Results:

1. Sophomores
2. Seniors
3. Juniors
4. Freshmen

Inflatable Tower

The object of this game was for one student to throw four pink inflatable tubes on another student, have that other student run across the gym, then toss the four tubes onto the first student, and have that first student run across the other end of the gym. The first round was between the freshmen and the juniors, with the freshmen advancing. The second round was between the sophomores and the seniors, with the seniors advancing. The two losing teams competed in a third-place match.

Results:

1. Seniors
2. Freshmen 
3. Juniors
4. Sophomores

Free Throw Game

The Free Throw game came last, where two students from each grade level competed to see who could shoot the most free throws in one minute and 30 seconds. The two grades who scored the highest in the first round competed for first place. The two grades who scored the lowest in the first round competed for third place. The first-place match between the sophomores and the seniors ended in a 17-17 tie, leading to a one-minute shootout tiebreaker between the two grades in which the seniors won 7-6.

Results:

1. Seniors
2. Sophomores
3. Juniors
4. Freshmen

Conclusion 

As staff members finished cleaning up the hallways from the morning floods, students slowly filed out of the gym, talking to each other about the results of the Pep Rally and their plans for spring break. Once they got home, backpacks were thrown into closets, face paint was washed off in bathroom sinks, and class shirts were tossed into laundry baskets as students put the third quarter behind them and prepared for the home stretch of the school year.

“Our Pep Rally is surreal and so uniquely designed compared to other schools,” Musical Chairs participant and communications junior Miya McKenzie said. “From the performances to the games, the school spirit and Dreyfoos magic truly shines through during this amazing event.”