Last week was a very successful Spirit Week for Page High! To recap, Monday was Generations Day, Tuesday was Decades Day, Wednesday was wearing orange to fight bullying, Thursday was Grimsley Grit Day, and Friday was Page Pride. Many people noticed that participation in Spirit Week seemed to be at an all time high, likely due to a year without this opportunity. Nearly every school has a week where they get to showcase their school spirit, but with the pandemic, most schools had to cancel this fun event in 2020. This year, freshman and sophomores were eager to participate in this tradition because it was their first ever high school spirit week, and juniors and seniors wanted to enjoy the experience during their last years of high school.

Increased participation in 2021’s spirit week is one effect of a year of virtual learning, but let’s explore a few other ways that online classes affected school spirit. Without being in-person, many students had no motivation to participate in clubs. For example, the Battle of the Books team could not participate in the annual competition due to the team consisting of only two students. In 2019, the team had over 10 members. Similarly, the Science Olympiad team consisted of three members, despite the team limit being 16. The lack of participation is inevitably because of the pandemic, as friends and classmates were merely circles on a screen. With this required physical distance from each other, many students became uninterested in “social” activities that took place online. The situation is similar for sports teams and sporting events, as participation decreased due to concerns regarding the virus and due to a lack of motivation. 

Despite these setbacks, the Pirates could not be stopped by a pandemic. Many Page students in the IB program participated in CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) projects, reaching out into the community during this time of need. For example, Page Seniors Alison Wahlberg and Maddie Hamuka collaborated to create a sock drive that ultimately raised 689 pairs to go to Backpack Beginnings, an organization that provides necessities to children experiencing hunger or trauma. Similarly, various clubs put together creative ways to help Page High and the community. The National Honor Society continued as usual, although they met online for most of the year, and other clubs organized events such as food drives. Team Voyage hosted a food drive, encouraging people who donated to decorate their cars as a fun mid-pandemic activity. Actions like these are representative of true Pirate Pride! Virtual learning was definitely an obstacle, but we made it work. With Page being back to in-person learning this year, our school spirit will certainly continue to grow.

Photo Credits: Beyond Entertainment