With the winter chill easing away, Marriotts Ridge High School is prepared to welcome the long awaited spring season with open arms. The week of April 2nd makes its way and the Mustangs gear up for a week of excitement and school spirit during the annual spring spirit week. Creating stronger bonds, dressing in new styles, igniting fun memories, Spirit Week has grown to be a cherished tradition at the school. The unforgettable week helps to develop a sense of unity and excitement within the student body.
“Spirit week boosts school spirit by bringing everyone together and giving students something fun to do,” junior Trijal Pinniti contributed.
At Marriotts Ridge, Spirit Week acts as a spark to ignite school spirit and promotes a sense of solidarity and connection among staff and students. Spirit Week turns the school into a cluster of excitement and activity with an assortment of themed events, from ridiculous dress-up days to competitive class battles. This yearly event fosters a strong sense of community among the school as well as giving students a stage to display their excitement and ingenuity. Students create lasting memories and relationships as they join together for the celebrations creating a profound impression on the school’s culture. These relationships persist well beyond the week-long event.
“I really like the album cover day because I thought the idea of dressing as my favorite artist was really cool. I also like being able to see everyones music taste,” sophomore Anvita Airani recounted.
At Marriott’s Ridge, Spirit week was a riot of creativity and self-expression, giving students a platform to express their uniqueness and sense of humor via a wide range of topics. With themes ranging from the hilarious Adam Sandler Day to the artistic flair of Album Cover Day and the nostalgic Iconic Group Day, each one gave students a special chance to let their imaginations run wild and explore a dimension of fun and creativity. Students celebrated the opportunity to express themselves authentically, whether they were imitating Adam Sandler, wearing an album cover or dressing up as iconic groups. The lively environment of inclusivity and joy permeated the entire school. Students were free to let loose and enjoy themselves on these themed days, but they also served as a reminder of the wide range of interests and personalities present in the school community.
“I’m excited for musical chairs and the log roll game. I especially like musical chairs because I participate in it every year and it gets your whole grade cheering for you,” junior Emma Okoeva described.
This year, spirit week ended with the very popular Maryland color day, where each grade has their own color from the Maryland flag. Freshmen wore yellow, sophomores got red, juniors had white and seniors were black. On this day, during 6th period, the school holds the long awaited school pep rally. With exciting games such as musical chairs, relay race, tug of war and the log roll relay, students were exhilarated for the last day of this amazing week. Mustangs were able to sign up for any of these games, but even the students not participating were full of anticipation and thrill as they cheered on their grade and peers from the sideline.
“I think Ro Shambo was great because we get to play the game throughout the day, and everyone gets to participate. I think everyone enjoyed it and it turned out to be really fun,” sophomore Noelle Han mentioned.
Ro Shambo, the newest edition to the pep rally games, was another aspect of spirit week which students were eager for. The game is very similar to the rock, paper, scissor competitions, but with an enjoyable twist. Students were handed out hot pink beads in the morning, and were expected to play rock, paper, scissors, shoe, and whoever won would take the other person’s beads. During the pep rally, the two students from each grade would compete until there was a final winner. The game was highly liked by students as everyone got to participate and it was a fun competitive game that was simple and delightful.
As Spirit week came to an end, the memories of fun and friendships endured, fostering a sense of cohesion and school spirit. Students have united to embrace the communal spirit that characterizes their school while celebrating their individuality via a tapestry of themed days, competitive events and contagious excitement. Spirit week has demonstrated the strength of community and the enduring friendships created through shared experiences, even beyond the costumes and celebrations. The spirit of friendship and togetherness that was sparked during Spirit Week can be felt as students think back on the experiences they had and the bonds they had built. This will leave a lasting legacy of school spirit and the unity that goes well beyond Spirit Week.