On Friday, February 3^rd, we had our first winter pep rally in 3 years to end a fun-filled spirit week. Packed with a winter sports captain feature, fun games to win spirit points, and entertainment such as the dance team, many NDCL students would call this pep rally a significant success. One of the most extensive parts of the rally was gathering spirit points. Each grade fought long and hard throughout spirit week to tally up points for their class in hopes of winning the title of “Spirit Week Champions.” It was an extremely tight race, with the seniors and juniors explicitly fighting for the top spot and the freshmen not far behind. The sophomores started the rally far back in point totals but eventually pulled through by winning the coin war. Altogether the students and staff raised close to $5,000 for the children at Blessing House, so a big thanks go to everyone who participated and donated. But, the seniors did pull together by the end of the rally to take home the prize of the 2023 Spirit Week Champions. Starting the pep rally, we honored the winter sports captains for the 2022-2023 school year. Seeing the sports leaders shine was very exciting as we applauded them for representing NDCL’s values within their sports. The basketball cheerleaders did a fantastic job exciting the students with cheers and performances.

Additionally, the dance team came out and raised everyone’s spirits with their exciting dance, wowing the crowd with every move. Games such as “The Plunge” and “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” got the different grades on their feet cheering for their classmates, and the musical chairs with the teacher representatives were among the most exciting for the grades to root for. Junior student Giuli Digiannantonio shared her perspective of the rally, explaining, “Overall, I think that it was a successful pep rally, and I enjoyed it-it, only being my second one ever.” Giuli explained how she did wish there were more opportunities for random student volunteers from the crowd to be involved in some of the games, but she did enjoy the events and the music from the band.

Speaking of the band, the upbeat music was an exciting addition to the rally-bringing many students to sing along to the songs they played. One of the most touching moments of the rally was when every student and staff member in the gym sang happy birthday to a student recently going through cancer treatment- ending the happy birthday video holding up hearts to show how much her classmates supported her. Senior Nina Depasquale was a commentator for the rally games. She talked about the senior’s win by saying, “It was a close game, but the seniors took the dub, which was such a full circle moment. Winning freshman year and winning again this year impacted every senior. We all rallied together after the win, and I did my classic ‘I believe’ chant with the trophy. The sight of pure joy when I looked around from the middle of the circle was something that I will never forget.” Next, sophomore Ava Mulchin added, “my favorite part of the pep rally was the games, especially when it was the elimination games like dodgeball. It was the most together my grade has been all year. Our class slacked the first few days, so our main source of points was winning the coin war and about half the games at the rally.”

If one word could summarize this rally from the student’s perspective, it would be unity. Whether winning the trophy or working with classmates to win a rally game, the connection felt between the grades was something many students claimed never to forget. Freshman Jonah Janosy said, “the pep rally was so fun. Even though the freshmen could have done way better, it was still cool.” Another freshman, Olivia Reagan, said, “I thought it was fascinating how everyone was super hyped up, but I still think the freshman should have won.” Each grade was extremely competitive about winning spirit week. The seniors may have won this year, but the 2024 Spirit Week Champions title will be up for grabs next year; who will win?