Reilly Dugery ’15: As Episcopal students begin one of the most anticipated weeks of the school year, they will notice a few changes throughout Spirit Week. In anticipation of Spirit Week, Student Council has spent a great deal of time organizing the competitions, listening to student feedback, and striving to improve the overall enjoyment of the events.
While this Spirit Week holds a number of similarities to last year’s, some aspects have been altered. One of the most exciting changes this year is the addition of two new dress down days. Traditionally, there have been three themed days, with normal dress code on Monday along with Special Dress for Veterans Day on Wednesday or Thursday. However, this year, with Veterans Day falling outside of Spirit Week, Student Council has decided to dedicate the entire week to separate dress down days. Monday will now be “American” themed, followed by the usual “clash day” on Tuesday and “decades day” on Wednesday. On Thursday, there will be the new addition of “jersey day.” Students will be able to wear their EA team jersey or the jersey of their favorite professionalplayer.Finishing out the week, Friday will remain the traditional blue and white theme in support of EA/AIS day.
In addition to the modifications made to the dress down days, the rules for the coveted lounge competition have also been altered. In order to create an equal platform for each grade to compete on, student council will continue to mandate a fixed budget and regulate a fixed time period for decoration. In addition, there will now be a so called “mystery item.” The class with the best incorporation of this item into their lounge will be awarded a substantial amount of additional points. Student Council also announced that this year’s lounge decoration will include class banners that each grade must decorate. Unlike the typical lounge decorations, which are taken down after spirit week, the banners will remain to serve as a reminder of spirit and pride throughout the school year.
While changes have been made, the other class spirit competitions will stay the same. The Freshman event, the pumpkin race, will take place on Monday, followed by the Sophomore-run tug of war, dodge ball with the Juniors on Wednesday, and, lastly, the senior-hosted wing bowl on Thursday.
Although class rivalries are widespread throughout Spirit Week, the events serve as an important part of EA/Haverford/AIS weekend: to bring the classes together and raise spirits for the real competition that lies ahead against our true rivals, the Owls and the Fords.
