Rally Truly Welcomes Freshmen
September 29, 2017
Leadership attempted to welcome the new freshmen class in a more positive way at the Welcome Back Rally, hosted during Academy period on September 1. Spirit commissioners, seniors John Torchio, Ryan Regan, and Jake Finegold, drove a golf cart into the gym and threw glow sticks to the crowd.
“We’re really trying to get a lot more spirit into the rally this year by involving the freshman a lot more,” said Regan, of the phosphorescent introduction. “Instead of booing them and putting them down, we’re trying to bring them up as a part of the student body.”
This effort was not lost on freshman Leila Stoll. “I thought it was very exciting,” said Stoll. “There was a lot of energy. It was better than I thought it’d be.”
According to Regan, he and his fellow Leadership officers, put a lot of work into the event. “When you’re at the rally as a student, you just see everything that goes on but not the behind stuff. Planning it out was definitely difficult but it was fun doing it with my good buddies,” he said.
The rally also included a performance from the cheer team. According to senior cheer captain Emma Wiley, her squad prepared throughout the summer for the performance. The team used the tryout dance with which they were all familiar, coupled with “some tumbling and a pyramid that we learned at cheer camp,” said Wiley. “People get excited when we perform,” Wiley added.
Sophomores Luke VandenBerghe and Ryan Lenahan entered dressed up as princesses while the song “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen played over the PA. This was intended to introduce the Homecoming theme.
Leadership then invited 4 people from each class down to the floor to participate in an intense game of tug-of-war. All grades fought a diligent game, though victory was scored by the seniors.
Finishing the rally, junior Will Grubs and the band performed “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Leadership also collected nearly $600 in Hurricane Harvey donations as students exited the gym.
