By Molly Egan ‘24, Feature Section Writer

Throughout Newark Academy’s history, the NA community has created traditions that are still followed today. Spirit Week, a common tradition at schools across the country, has proved to be a favorite among NA students, allowing people to dress up creatively and participate in fun competitions during the day. Even though the Spirit Day themes are usually repeated every year, School Council gets to bring a fresh take to Spirit Week when they pick their specific grade theme.

On Grade Theme Day, students dress up according to the specific theme assigned to their grade. The themes are chosen by the Council Members and are usually creative and include alliteration. This year the themes were Middle School Movie Stars, Farmer Freshmen, Sixties Sophomores, James Bond Juniors, and Saddle Up Seniors. Even though thinking of a theme sounds like an easy task, it can actually be quite difficult. Council members need to come up with  something creative and unique but also something they know students will participate in. 

Freshman council president Gina Schreier ‘26 says that student participation was a large factor in choosing a theme of Farmer Freshmen. She, along with the other freshmen council members, said they chose their theme, Farmer Freshmen, because they “felt like it was a theme that would be easy for everyone to dress up as and have fun with.” 

Similarly, the Junior Student Council members chose their theme based on accessibility. Junior Representative Kieri Keys ‘24 said that the Council members narrowed their theme down to three ideas: Jedi Juniors, Justice League Juniors, and James Bond Juniors. Kieri and the other Junior School Council members chose James Bond Juniors over their other theme ideas based on what they thought would be easiest for students. “It would’ve been really hard for people to dress up for Jedi or Justice League without having to go out to buy things,” said Keys. “We wanted people to be able to use items they already had.” 

The Sophomore School Council members took a different approach to get people to dress up. On the morning of Grade Theme Day, they were handing out accessories such as rainbow bandanas and peace sign necklaces to ensure that all sophomores could participate. Rather than the Juniors who relied on students to bring in their own items, the Sophomores boosted grade participation by providing items to their grade. Sophomore council president Matthew Herbert ‘25 said the sophomore council “had a blast helping out people in the grade embrace their inner hippie” by handing out accessories. 

The Grade Theme Day themes are also used when School Council films their Spirit Videos, which is another tradition that students and faculty look forward to every year. In the Spirit Videos, the School Council members for each grade film a short video that involves other students and relates back to their Grade Day Theme.

The Sophomores, who ended up winning the Spirit Video Competition, had an interesting approach to their theme. In their video, Evan Breckman ‘25 incorrectly interprets the Sophomore’s grade theme and ends up gathering sixty sophomores instead of dressing up as someone from the 60s. This unique take on their theme led to a hilarious video, allowing them to win the Spirit Video Competition. The Seniors filmed an action filled video, including a cowboy chasing down three Newark Academy students. The use of slow motion shots and closeup created a dramatic effect and took the video to another level, putting the Seniors in the running for first place. 

As for the Juniors, they filmed their own James Bond movie, focusing on Bonds unwillingness to work with a partner. Despite Bond being disinterested toward his new partner, eventually they work together to defeat the villain. Similarly to the Juniors, the Middle School recreated the famous Will Smith Oscars slap from earlier this year which gained many laughs from the audience.The Freshmen’s Spirit Video definitely stood out from the others and had all the students and faculty laughing. Instead of filming a video with a plot-line, the freshmen council decided to create a random video filled with farmers dancing and throwing corn which was no doubt hilarious and memorable. 

Altogether, Spirit Week is an exciting time for students and allows them to have fun and participate in exciting and creative activities. From dressing up to participating in competitions to watching the Spirit Videos, Spirit Week is always a memorable tradition in the NA community.