Pep rallies
Pep rallies are used for heating up the mood, usually before sporting events. Many students are coming together then and present or play their activities, they have planned for that day.
Often they are organised before big sports like football or basketball. It does not only include little games and shows, but also speeches from players or coaches for example. In general, pep rallies should lead the team to a greater success.
At Northern High School, pep rallies are always organised for a fixed date during school time.
It takes about one to two hours then and needs to be planned approximately one month in advance. It is structured by different courses or sport teams which thought of a presentation or little games for the students. Almost every time, the cheerleaders begin and present their new performance for the pep rally. After that, the principal Mr. Lehman gives his speech and the little games are ready to play. There are actions like pulling a rope or mats where courses compete against other ones.
At Northern High School pep rallies are often not really meant for a specific game, but for encouraging the team for the whole sport season. Moreover, it is an event in context to sport, but above all for the school spirit. Once again, it is all about supporting your classmates and getting the best out of them. Additionally, they are also strengthen the forming of a community by having fun together during school.
Spirit week
The Spirit Weeks are describing a few special days at school with different activities to bring the students together. This event includes the whole school even the teachers are a big part of it. Before the spirit week starts all students get a plan with the topics for the following school days. The students are going to dress appropriately for the topic that day, it could be anything like going to school in pajamas or some crazy costumes. During the Spirit Week the students are doing all kind of funny stuff which includes playing games against other students and all that in front of the whole school. The spirit week has its own rules throwing cakes around and games where you have to pop ballon’s with your tummy are totally normal.
These days are meant to support the school spirit even more. In addition, it is a great break from normal school life. The normal school days in the U.S. are long. Mostly, you get home at 4pm and afterwards you have to do your homework for the next day. That’s why the most students think very positively about the spirit week. Furthermore, you get along way more with the students at your school and you get to know them from a new angle. Often there are many new friendships after the spirit week. That’s why the school spirit is that strong in the U.S. A good school spirit helps with an amazing work climate. In addition, for some students it means the world to have all students being nice to each other because maybe they experienced bullying before. It makes school way easier when you don’t have to worry about the other students making fun of you. It’s supposed to help the students by learning and the teachers by teaching to make school days fun for everyone. In addition, school in the US is often more than learning for the students they are mostly kind of proud to go to the school.
Merch
Northern High School for example has it’s own Merch. Merch means different clothes from the school mostly with some cool prints on it. From socks to hats you can get anything with Northern High school on it. Even the Polar bear which is the animal of the school is printed on the clothes. Furthermore, to wear the Merch of your school shows your belonging. Especially if everyone comes to school with the same shirt or the same sweatpants it could bring the students more together. To have school merch has definitely more benefits than disadvantages. The first big benefit is that no one is left behind because of the stuff they are wearing. Not every family got the money to buy clothes from expansive brands like Nike or Adidas and kids are very rude at this point. So many kids are bullied everyday because of their no-name clothes and to have all students wearing the school merch helps preventing this type of bullying.
In addition Northern High school has an amazing football team and it looks very cool when the stands are wearing the same or at least similar clothes. Especially at those games the Merch shows your belonging and you wouldn’t be wearing it if you aren’t proud of the school. So it is also kind of a conformation for the school that everything goes the right way. Lastly, Merch is a large thing at Northern High school, everybody owns at least one thing.
Northern HS Mini- THON
One unique selling point about Northern High School and for its school spirit is their Northern HS Mini- THON. It is a committee that collects donations for the Four Diamonds Fund which fights against childhood cancer. Undoubtedly, Northern High School hopes to conquer this disease by its support.
To raise as much money as possible, the team plans a lot of various campaigns. For instance, they are selling donuts or ice-cream where 25% of sales from the deck benefits Four Diamonds. Furthermore, there are a lot of sport games to get donations for the children. In fact, it is the most effective way for the committee, because that are always the events where an impressive number of students participate and support. The amount of sport groups includes almost every type they offer at their school. One special evening is the Powderpuff Football game where juniors compete against seniors. Additionally, there is one more special feature: In this game you will experience girls on the field and boys on sidelines, means they switch up the whole system. The result is an even bigger crowd due to this interesting change. Moreover, Faculty games take place such as the Faculty Basketball game of High School against Middle School. That means competitions of teachers against other schools, but also within Northern High School. For instance, to support their team the students are supposed to wear blue clothes while this game. An example for a game within Northern High School is the Faculty volleyball game.
Furthermore, the Gold Out games are the events with the biggest importance for this campaign. Namely, it is the childhood cancer awareness month which is why the committee gets even more attention for its goals. Therefore, there are also a lot of games like the Gold Out soccer game of the boys for which the students also can buy t shirts where a part of the donations will belong to Four Diamonds. Besides the boys also the girls have a Gold Out game where volleyball is played and where everyone wears something gold due to the name. Just as with the boys t shirts can be bought to cheer on the girls as well. In order to reach as many students as possible, there is always enough advertising on their Instagram page, where all the important information about games and for example t shirts can be seen. This allows the best possible income for the fight against cancer.
Besides the awesome benefits for the Four Diamonds Fund, it is also a great enrichment for the school spirit. In conclusion, it is an other reason for the students to come together and moreover they are also able to invite their parents. Thus, they have one more opportunity to show their pride of being part of the school. Especially the sport games motivate the students to come, because they don't just want to cheer on their team, they also want to make a difference. In relation to the American health care system, it is particularly important for the students to make a lot of commitment to this campaign. In summary, the students of Northern High School feel like a community which is able to help to achieve possibly greater than the state. Therefore, it is a project that is very close to everyone's heart, which makes them enjoy going to school and get involved in it with ambition. Generally speaking, the Northern HS Mini-THON represent even more clearly the immense influence of school sports on the school spirit.
Homecoming
Homecoming is an important event for many high schools, universities and colleges where they want to honor their former students. For that reason some of them are visiting their old school to kind of feel the familiar ground once again: They are coming home! They are able to see old friends or teachers and experience the school spirit one more time. A lot of activities are planned for the day and furthermore the whole week, which takes place around the end of September or beginning of October every year. It is not just an amazing and emotional time for the former students, also for the current ones because the solidarity and sense of community gets its appreciation. It is a big part of the American school life, but still every school has their own traditions and way to celebrate this day. At Northern High School they enable the students to strengthen the school spirit with different activities for around seven days before homecoming. They are organising a spirit week, pep rallies and the school dance for example. In addition, they have a homecoming football game which is one of the biggest parts in homecoming week.
Homecoming football game
Every year Northern High School has its main football game for homecoming. It is always the Friday before, which is why there is a lot of promotion throughout the week. Even the uninterested students in football itself are coming to celebrate the team and day. This results in an even bigger school spirit than usual. There are not just more people, it is also the most important game for the whole school. That is not meant for the sport season, but for the school spirit. It is due to homecoming game, because it includes the greatest support which strengthens cohesion. That is the cause why there is also a bigger will to win of the team.
Otherwise, the structure of the evening is the same as usual, but still there are some awesome features by Northern High School. Of course there is also a theme which was pink out this year.
A difference to the normal games is the longer presentation of the marching band and color guard. It is used to be the most demanding performance for the whole year, which shows that football brings all sports together by which maximum school spirit can be achieved. It always amazes everyone, with what effort such a big show is presented. One more individual thing of Northern High School is the firework that is only organised for homecoming game. All these features lead to an amazing event which is very special and unforgettable for the students!