By Ben Goodman ’16, Courtney Cooperman ’16, and Anna Hope Emerson ’16, Editors-in-Chief

In the middle of last month, Newark Academy took its annual plunge into insanity. Hats, mismatching socks and tank tops replaced button-downs, khakis and dresses. Groggy silence was rejected in favor of primal roars in Morning Meeting, while Spartans, newlyweds, campers, and various types of monsters roamed the halls. Utter craziness. That is, until the next Monday, when well-dressed students filed politely into Morning Meeting to face a day of labs and tests as if nothing strange had happened the previous week.

Spirit Week, clearly, is a big deal at the Academy. Unlike other local schools, where dress-up participation might flutter between 20% and 30%, nearly every student at Newark Academy is a full-throated participant in the pandemonium. At this point, Spirit Week is as “NA” as the IB. Why? The real explanation for the phenomenon lies outside of rather than within Spirit Week. Namely, we at the Academy tend to become overworked and overwired, to the point where we need Spirit Week.

Of course, stress is a part of high school– and of life– but at times students here take it to the extreme, and no grade is exempt. Freshmen (“I signed up for 17 clubs at the club fair”), sophomores (“APUSH and chem test back-to-back”), juniors (“No, I won’t get home tonight until, like, 9:00; I have my ACT tutor after practice”), and seniors (“College”) all have reasons to be up late at night, exhausted in school and just burnt out, and it permeates our halls. Too often, dialogue between and even during classes consists of students vocalizing their fatigue and frustration. While most would agree that going through the school year tired and overworked is unhealthy– and not what Newark Academy had in mind for us– many may wrongly suggest that that stress level is inevitable; that it’s a rite of passage; that we should accept it and push through it. That attitude is self-defeating. The issue is tricky, though, because the negative stress stems from quite positive qualities of school culture: diligence, exploration, and ambition. Still, the line can be blurred between challenging yourself at school and harming yourself; it’s a line crossed easily by taking that extra honors course, applying for that extra leadership position, or practicing your sport or instrument for that extra hour. Tacitly, we all recognize the high equilibrium of pressure at the Academy, and we search for solutions.

In come fun-filled breaks like Spirit Week, which the Administration and Student Council work hard to provide. Surprise hot chocolate days and field trips help to lift some of the tremendous weight off of students’ backs, and Spirit Week is the lengthiest and loudest manifestation of the community’s efforts. For five days, the Academy can dress up, scream, dance, and do (almost) whatever it pleases, which puts smiles on the faces of weary students– and even some teachers!

Simultaneously, though, it is important to recall why these breaks are so desperately needed; they help us take a step back from full course loads, jam-packed afternoons, and late nights of studying. Although the School Council offers creative ways to help the student body decompress, partaking in exciting school-wide initiatives cannot be the only ingredient to keeping stress at a manageable level. Spirit Week comes and goes in October, but academic rigor persists the entire year. On a daily basis, students must adhere to their own well-being and limitations. The Minuteman contends that each individual must ultimately take charge of his or her own happiness.

How? At the beginning of each academic year, Upper School Principal Dr. DiBianca reminds the community to strike the right balance between stress and boredom. Take his advice. There is no merit in pushing yourself too hard, so don’t take a sixth class unless you think that you can handle the increased workload.  Neither is there virtue in bragging about how little sleep you got, or how late you came home, or how many hours into the wee morning you studied for that totally impossible test. If you take too many courses and are struggling, drop one when it is permissible, and join clubs selectively, so that you learn more in a few instead of less in many.  Adopt the mantra, “quality over quantity,” as Dr. DiBianca reiterated on Parents’ Day.

This is not to ridicule Newark Academy students who tend to have a lot on their plates; it is to emphasize how important it is that they look after themselves. Every student is different, so tune out your peers’ priorities and abilities. Some may simply be able to handle more in a day than others. Above all, try to get as much sleep as possible.

Maybe then, students could approach every day at the Academy with Spirit Week-level energy.