Updated 10/2
Do you ever wonder how the Pep Rally is so organized with so little preparation time? The secret is the students and faculty. Let’s take a look behind the scenes of planning the Pep Rally.
Behind the scenes, the students and teams are working hard to plan activities, coordinate with teachers, and ensure that the event goes off without any (major) problems. To get everyone ready, they create posters and organize the events. The first thing that goes into planning is knowing who’s doing what. Seniors are allowed to volunteer to run the Pep Rally. To do so, they reported to room 263 to sign up with Mr. Botticelli. They stay once a week leading up to the Pep Rally to organize the events. Some events remain year to year, like how the Sports captains will always do the annual Tug of War event. Some events will change from year to year, like Dizzy Bat or Knock Out.
The school becomes more and more thrilled by the minute as preparations start to take shape.
“We’re planning a lot of very fun activities for the Pep Rally so that all different grades can get involved. We have some really cool [games] and new ones that are coming in this year. We’re keeping our classic blindfolded musical chairs, but we’re also adding hungry hippos this year, which will be really fun,” Evelyn Romanowski said.
Then there’s the technical part, which involves arranging speakers, microphones, and music playlists to achieve the perfect sound. It is typically the responsibility of audio-visual students or staff to ensure that the music and lights start at the appropriate moments. If a cue is missed, there may be an awkward pause when a team’s players are about to enter.
The day of the rally is organized chaos. Everyone is nervous and excited, with the band practicing last-minute adjustments and the cheerleaders warming up.
MCs are backstage ensuring that everyone is in place. All of the effort pays off when the doors open, and the students pour in. The gym has electric energy, and everything seems to fit together magically after the many hours of preparation and cooperation that went into making it all happen. Everyone puts their all into making Homecoming events something the entire school will never forget.
There is also a buzz of excitement at the school in the weeks before the yearly Powder Puff game as students get ready. This annual showdown, formerly called Powder Puff, a name that’s been hard to bury, immediately follows the Pep Rally, where junior and senior girls fight for serious bragging rights. Powder Puff is a tradition that unites the entire community, with the girls playing football and the boys cheering them on.
“I’m actually kind of excited for the Powder Puff game because I bribed Mr. Janas and Mr. Dannecker with my amazing cookies, and the Seniors are going to win!!” Ella Smith said. Summer Schwanekamp said, “I bought all the supplies for Powder Puff, and I have my [Homecoming] dress already.”
