By Siddarth Tumu ’18, Middle School Editor

Spirit Week is a time of grade competition, class activities, artistic creativity, and most importantly, school spirit. It is a week filled with fun activities and opportunities for students to get involved in school-wide activities. However, one prevalent question is: does Spirit Week accomplish everything it is meant to? There’s no secret that some students aren’t happy with the outcome of Spirit Week and believe that the teachers “rig” the competition so that the seniors always win. At the same time, some faculty members feel that the week is cumbersome and detrimental to the academic atmosphere in the classroom. Even within the student community, there are individuals who find it a hassle to dress up to a different theme everyday. Despite this, Spirit Week is widely enjoyed by the school community, especially new students who are finding a home at Newark Academy.

The timing of Spirit Week can mostly be attributed to the timing of Homecoming Day (planned independently of the school council). Because of the efforts to align the two, it is inevitable that the week happens at arguably one of the hardest academic periods of the school year. This effort to channel students’ energy into positive competition and school spirit undoubtedly helps keep stress and panic levels at a minimum while creating lasting memories. Perhaps the most famed part of Spirit Week is the grade skits that happen at the pep rally. Due to the fact that the skits have been wildly inappropriate in past years, the administration has put the skits on probation, wherein the slightest of mistakes or inappropriate innuendos could end the skits indefinitely. Jake Furst, school council President, had this to say about the skits: “The skits went extremely well this year. They were funny, spirited, and, for the most part, not offensive. However, given the disrespect and crude humor of past years, the skits will remain ‘on probation’ for many years to come, meaning that one bad year will probably mean the end of skits for a long time.” When asked about the possible banning of skits, Jake said that the decision to end the skits would not be made exclusively by the administration, but also by the student council, in the best interest of the community. Concerning rumors that Spirit Week is rigged in favor of the seniors, Jake reaffirmed that the council and administration rig no aspects of the week and its activities. The only aspect he sees as potentially unfair is the ‘secret spirit’ judging wherein teachers might be more inclined to vote for the seniors. To this end, he believes that the only way to fix the situation is for other grades to be more spirited.

When compared to recent years, Jake ranks this year’s Spirit Week as one of the best. “I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly Spirit Week went this year. There was very little complaining, no fits of anger, and no cheating. Students were much more respectful in Morning Meeting and much less disruptive throughout the week as compared with past years, and the council and I are very grateful for that. We were able to do all that and still remain extremely spirited and engaged. I think that the school balanced spirit with respect perfectly.” The school council puts in tremendous time and effort in planning and executing Spirit Week for the school community to enjoy and should be commended for their efforts.

There are undeniably some aspects of Spirit Week that create rifts within the school community and could use improving upon; however, the pros absolutely outweigh the cons, making Spirit Week one of the highlights of the school year. In future years, efforts by the school council and administration will continue to redefine and add new meaning to Spirit Week, addressing any contentious aspects or situations. As Spirit Week continues to grow and become better, one can only wait and see what next year’s Spirit Week will bring.