CAPTION: Junior class girls battling it out in Tug-oF-War during the 2025 Spirit Week. Photograph by Abbie Kato (25′)
A three point difference was all it took for the juniors to fall short during last year’s Spirit Week. Having come so close to victory, they are determined to win it all come January 2026, when HBA middle and high school students compete again in the annual event. This year’s theme is “Board Games in Real Life,” with each grade representing a different board game. The senior class was assigned “Clue”, the rest of the grades have “Chess,” “Monopoly,” “Candyland,” and “Sorry,” respectively, with the 7th and 8th graders participating as a combined group.
Over the course of Spirit week, each grade will earn points through categories like cheers, dances, skits, and games. Last quarter, the student council announced and explained the Dress Up Day themes during an assembly. Monday’s theme will be “Emo vs. Coquette,” featuring either “emo” fashion or pink with bows and ribbons. Tuesday’s theme will be “Stay Afloat,” featuring beach wear such as floaties or board shorts. Wednesday’s theme will be “Wacky Wednesday,” showcasing mismatched clothes, bright colors, and wild hairstyles. Thursday’s theme, “Pepper Squad,” students will dress according to their class’s Pepper Squad theme. Lastly, Friday will be “All Out Eagle Day,” celebrating HBA colors and the Endurance the eagle mascot. The student council reminded students that school dress codes still apply during these days.
Each Spirit Week assembly will consist of a game or event that will contribute to most of the points that classes can earn. Platform Jam will be making a return this year. Student favorite, Tug-of-War, will also be a part of Spirit Week this year. Thursday will be the Pepper Squad skit day. Lastly, Friday will be the All-class Cheer day. Each grade will perform two cheers—one assigned to them and one of their choosing—that will be judged by the teachers. At the time of writing, Wednesday’s game has not been determined. The student council’s voting council will vote on the final game on November 21.
Two new changes will be introduced this year to improve the morale and enjoyment of Spirit Week, according to the student council. The first major change is for the middle schoolers; for the first time since they have been participating as a combined group, they will compete for the Mana Cup alongside the high schoolers. Last year, miscommunication led to confusion over the Pepper Squad rankings. The middle schoolers were given an automatic last place for the Pepper Squad category as they were not considered a competitor. The middle schoolers did not know about this arrangement and so were surprised by their last place ranking despite having performed a well-received Pepper Squad. This year, however, the middle schoolers will compete against the high schoolers for a proper Pepper Squad score. The second change concerns Pepper Squad skit times. In previous years, high schoolers were given only seven minutes to perform their skit. Starting this year, all grades will have eight minutes.
Class council officers and students alike have expressed high hopes for their class for Spirit Week this year, especially the seniors. Drew Lohr, student body president and current senior, said, “We’ve had a strong presence in Spirit Week these last two years, and I know that we’ll perform well this year. This is a chance for our grade to come together one last time as seniors, so it’ll really be special for all of us.” Junior Leina Wong, student body vice president, is excited to see how Spirit Week will invigorate all the grades. She said, “I’m always so happy to see all the grades grow so strong in their own class community as they all collaborate to create their banner, Pepper Squad and even just cheer their hearts out for their classmates. I’m hoping to see not just the classes come together but also see the school come together. Spirit Week is meant to promote unity and this year we really want to try to create that.” From an underclassmen’s perspective, Rex Iida, a freshman, is excited to see how things play out for his class in their first year in high school. “Spirit Week was fun last year so I’m excited to see how it’ll be this year since we’re freshmen now. Our grade is very fun and energetic so I think we’ll do well,” he said.
As a student council member, Lohr is also hopeful that this year’s Spirit Week experience will be a positive one for all grades. “Last year, tensions were high between classes. It took away from the community aspect of Spirit Week. All I hope is that this year, everybody regardless of their grade will get along. Seeing our entire student body having fun as a whole is really rewarding to see,” he said.
