By Matteo Moretti ’17, Staff Writer

It’s mid-October. Everyone has settled back into school life, and the routine of last school year and all the ones before is starting to reassert itself. Before we all put our heads down and work hard like NA students do, there is one event that everyone cannot wait for… SPIRIT WEEK! Spirit week at NA is always one of the best events of the fall to look forward to. A friendly competition between the different grades and a mass showing of school spirit and pride, Spirit Week cannot go unnoticed; however, what and who makes Spirit Week possible can.

The process begins with the student body almost immediately after last year’s Spirit week has ended – with goals set on grade themes. Throughout the remainder of the school year random thoughts might become perfect ideas for use in the next Spirit Week. This year’s Senior Spartans, Just-Married Juniors, Soph-S’mores, Flesh-Eating Freshman, and Monster Middle School were thoughts of not just the student body, but also the Student Council.

The real planning for Spirit Week begins at the Student Council retreat towards the end of August. The Student Council retreat is when all the members of the Student Council, Ms. Galvin, Ms. Duszak, and several other faculty members head out for a 2-day trip to discuss the plethora of events happening in the fall at NA – focusing mainly on Homecoming and Spirit Week.

The council determines the schedule for Spirit Week and each part of every day is planned in terms of events and dress up. This initial meeting of the council as a whole is also when new ideas may be proposed and voted on; for example, last year USA day was made an official day of Spirit Week through this process. After the schedule is agreed on, the students break up into their respective grade councils and pick and brainstorm the perfect theme for their grade. However, it is not as simple as picking a theme with a catchy name; the students have to take several factors into account including, grade dress up day, skits and t-shirts for the proposed theme. Once the council has picked a theme that meets all the important priorities, each grade council shares their theme with the other grades. The students and teachers also come together to discuss who will work which event of Spirit Week and who will help organize each event. This is a difficult task because the council has to set up specific events to make sure that they get as much participation as possible, which is why, for example, dodgeball is held during a universal drop period.

Aside from organizing events and grade themes, the Student Council and faculty members are in charge of making improvements to certain aspects of Spirit Week. Aman Patil 17’, one of the two representatives for the Junior Student Council says that the council “also discusses material and ideas from previous years – what went well and what did not – and how to fix it.” One main example of the improvements that the council focuses on is the guidelines for skits. The members make sure they create a solid and clear rubric for the skit that does not allow for anything inappropriate to occur.

The hard work and planning of Spirit Week is all worth it when both the students and faculty have a fun time. The students and faculty both participate in dress-up days and even the faculty has a theme – this year it was Frightening Faculty. According to Megan McCullough 18’, Spirit Week is not only a time to show school spirit and pride, but another benefit of Spirit Week is that “it allows the school as a whole to not think about grades for a little and focus instead on having fun and building our community.” Ms. Duszak really enjoys Spirit Week and has fun along with the students. She also says that during Spirit Week, “it is nice to see everyone blow off steam and have fun for a week. It also brings the whole school together and allows for the individual classes to interact.”

Overall, Spirit Week provides the school a chance to relax, have fun and show NA pride. A lot of hard work and effort goes into making Spirit Week happen by the faculty and Student Council and it is greatly appreciated and enjoyed by the community. Although the Senior Spartans may have won this year, next year is a new competition, with a new potential Spirit Week champion!