![Orchestra teacher Mieloch is seen directing the orchestra. Mieloch has been teaching for 14 years and is passionate about music.
“Ever since eighth grade I wanted to be a conductor,” Mieloch said. “When I got into high school, I had a couple of really great teachers that made me want to be a teacher and I felt like ‘let’s put them together,’ and I [became] an orchestra teacher.”](https://fzwnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/kUyj9QUMZeOPBGTDD833b9WDk7Yvt7yppa5Htzqv-800x1200.jpg)
Snowy Spirit
Winter can often feel cold and lifeless, but adding spirit days before the winter formal can rejuvenate this season.
Planning winter spirit days can add new life into the coldest season.
As the beginning of the year buzz dies down, school spirit grinds to a halt. There are no more homecoming festivities, Friday nights spent cheering on the football team or pep assemblies rallying the school. There are several spirit weeks during the first months of the year, but the school needs a more motivational spirit week during second semester to help spread the spirit out. The beginning of the year has too many spirit weeks, causing the ideas to become less and less creative. The school is in desperate need of a week with days that appeal to and excite the entire student body.
During Red Ribbon Week, the themes were not made so everyone in the school could participate. This problem combined with the fact that these themed days were not leading up to any big school function leads to decreasing participation from the students
“Most of the themes [for Red Ribbon Week] were lame and weren’t memorable,” junior Ryan Staples said. “It’s hard for me to participate in ‘crazy leggings day,’ I’m a guy.”
Easier themed days does not have to mean boring days. Simply putting some thought into how well students would be able to dress to the day and how many could easily participate would be an effortless way to increase student involvement.
“To make the days better I would make the themes more inclusive and more enjoyable,” Staples said. “I’m pretty sure we haven’t had a pajama day [this year]. That’d be good because they’re comfortable and everyone has some [pajamas].”
![Being a close-knit unit has always been a top priority for the team. This makes them feel like they perform better and are a better team overall. “I always try to talk to [my teammates] in a positive manner,” Webb said. “I don’t want to come off as rude or make them think that I am superior to them, so I think coming off as a teammate standpoint is the biggest way to motivate people and get them to stay positive rather than getting down on themselves and putting themselves in a bad place.”](https://fzwnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/dance-4-475x316.jpg)
To create more energy around spirit weeks, the school needs to continue with the trend of placing it on an important week, such as leading up to an awaited event. With the winter formal returning to school, the week prior to the dance would be a perfect time to create hype around the resurfaced event, and it would be the ideal time to have a spirit week with broad themes. Any type of spirit week needs planning, which means there needs to be a group of people behind it, helping to make it a reality and planning the new themed days.
“To have a spirit week, an organization or club would need to meet with me,” principal Neil Berry said. “There is really no reason I can see why we couldn’t [have a winter spirit week].”
The week needs to be placed in second semester seeing how we do not have a spirit week at all after the first round of finals. This would be perfect placement as post-finals many students will be feeling drained. A day like a pajama day here among others would really bring everybody together after all the hard work.
Another week of fun themes would greatly benefit the school community and help everybody bond. Winter is a great universal idea and could generate themes suited for everybody to participate in without having to go over the top to achieve a look that fits the theme of the day. The days in previous spirit weeks have become less interactive with the students, failing to generate the inclination and ability for all to join in the fun. The new purpose of the week would be to get everyone excited about an upcoming event, such as a big basketball game or the elusive winter formal. The days would be planned out to be easier for all students to participate in the fun and get the school excited for the event.
Different days could be ugly sweater day where one could dress in holiday colors or like an object that reminds them of the holidays. There could also be cozy pajama day, including fuzzy socks and one’s favorite slippers or onesie. Students could dress up like their favorite holiday movie character, or dress in winter sports gear. The holidays are a time when all is cheery and joyful, so some of that winter delight should be brought in to deck these halls.
