Brian Jeen, Writer

Which school event would you say is the best? Personally, I would proudly say Spirit Week. 

Led by the USS SCA, Spirit Weeks are one-week events held every quarter that aim to bond the GSIS community through daily events and challenges. What I love about Spirit Weeks is the school pride I feel when I see everyone wearing clothes following the new theme every day— whether it’s twin day or pajama day, we’re all in it together as a school. However, I also wanted to hear from other community members and learn about their perspectives on the event.

One of the people I interviewed was USS Math Teacher and USS SCA advisor Mrs. Cindy Choi. She explained, “Spirit week was created to celebrate our new sports teams at the start of the season. The students in the student council have worked very hard to brainstorm and organize the event, so it’s always a joy to see the effort pay off when Spirit Week comes around. My favorite part of Spirit Week is the dressing up because it’s so much fun to see others in school spirit! I would love for more students to participate in this event because it is one of the few times we can get out of a formal learning environment and make great memories together,”

Just as Mrs. Choi commented, the main reason why I love Spirit Week is because of the unified school spirit that is created when students participate in the event. When I roam in the hallways during Spirit Week, there is always a bright environment where students and teachers laugh and compliment each other on their costumes. 

Another person I talked to was senior and SCA vice president, Timmy Lee. “Something I love about Spirit Week is when I get to see the students actually participating in the event, which we planned very hard on,” he commented, “while planning SCA is definitely fun, we also get nervous as there is a lot of responsibility since many students look forward to the event.” 

Timmy added, “I personally love Spirit week because of the Pep Rallies we host at the end of every Spirit Week. I love the feeling of being an MC and hearing the reactions of the school whenever I announce something. It’s a shame we weren’t able to promote Spirit Week as much as we could this past Spirit Week, so I think our objective for the next Spirit Week is to focus on advertising.“

The last person I talked to was Eddie Lee, another current senior. He says “My favorite part of spirit week is Pep Rally. I especially enjoy the Tug of War matches at Pep Rally since we get to cooperate with our classmates with a common goal of “beating” the other grades.”

Like Eddie, I also love Pep Rally because of the engaging activities that both the students and staff get to participate in— we get to watch the sports teams show off their skills, there are dance performances from LSS and USS students, and we get to compete in interactive games like tug-of-war. As Eddie mentioned, the tug-of-war games are also my favorite activity during the event. The determination students have while attempting to beat other grades as a team, the spirit that is created by spectators rooting for their peers, and the joy that erupts when one team wins after fighting a well-fought battle all come together to make the experience merrier and end Spirit Week on a high note.

All in all, Spirit Week, just like all other GSIS community events, works to bring our students and school community together. Having more participation in the event will not only make the experience more memorable but would also help to make our school more deeply connected and united as a community. The next time Spirit Week rolls around, I strongly encourage everyone to dress up according to the daily theme or even participate in a game of tug-of-war!