On Tuesday, October 15, Mount Greylock began its annual Spirit Week and erupted with Mountie pride. Students in grades 7-12 participated in four themed days of school spirit, and the fourth day ended with a school-wide pep rally.
This year’s Spirit Week featured a variety of costumes, outfits, and bags. Each day had a different theme: “Anything but a Backpack” on Tuesday, “Night In versus Night Out” on Wednesday, “Costume/Squad Day” on Thursday and “Color Wars” to finish off the week. This was an opportunity for students to get creative, finding an outfit or prop for each theme while spending good times with their friends.
Spirit Week was an interactive experience that brought the students of Mount Greylock together. On Tuesday, Mounties brought a variety of backpack substitutes to school, including but not limited to: a cat tower on wheels, a baby carriage, a gaming chair, a lawn mower and a kayak. “Most people got involved in ‘Anything but a Backpack’ day,” said eighth grader Alex Fisher. “It was the easiest to do because we really didn’t have to do anything except find a bag.”
Wednesday’s spirit, “Night In versus Night Out,” was an opportunity for students to display their comfy or formal attire. When given the choice, the majority of the students chose to wear comfy clothes, including junior Ruby Dufour. “My favorite day of spirit was Night In vs. Night Out because I got to be cozy and comfortable during the school day,” said Dufour.
For some grades, spirit week was an occasion for building a class identity. “It was great to see everybody dressed up. Our senior class has been pretty divided — we’re a grade of 70 people of very differing personalities that’s been separated by cliques, but here we were all together and we really felt united as a whole,” said senior Gavin Hetherington. “Costume/Squad Day” was especially significant for the senior class because of their decision to dress up as minions, with class President Erik Powell-Bechtel as Gru. The ninth grade class also sported gradewide spirit in the form of personalized Thing 1, 2, 3, etc. costumes.
The week ended with “Color Wars” and a pep rally held by the senior class. Seniors Malia Koffi and Jameson Bayliss emceed the event, which spread Mountie spirit throughout the gym. The pep rally included games, such as tug of war and musical chairs, and a wide variety of dances created by the athletic teams of MG.
To start, the girl’s cross country team performed a dance to the song “Dancing Queen” by Abba, followed by the girl’s volleyball team’s reenactment of a scene from the movie “High School Musical.” Next, the boy’s soccer team performed a spontaneous rendition of “The Chicken Dance.” Finally, the series of dances ended with the girl’s soccer team’s interpretation of famous actor Tom Holland’s dance to the song “Umbrella” by Rihanna, starring senior Mai O’Connor as Tom Holland. Only two games were conducted at the rally this year, featuring tug of war and musical chairs, with both students and faculty participating. Nevertheless, students felt that the event highlighted Mountie pride. “It really brought together the community in the school,” said Fisher.
In the future, Freshman Rowan Apotsos said that she would have liked to see “more little games other than musical chairs, and more competition between grades” during the pep rally. Dufour shared this perspective, stating she wants “more games at next year’s pep rally.”
Pep Rallies are a fantastic display of school spirit, and whispers indicate there may be more to come this school year.
