Spirit Week -- The Wildcat Roar by 800 News

LET’S BE BETTER

Spirit Week is the best time of the year for a WCA Student. The competition, high stakes, and great class community have created lasting memories for many an alumni. However, over roughly the past five years the culture of Spirit Week has changed. The love of the games, big events, and dress ups has become overshadowed by the immaturity and toxicity following students off campus each evening of Spirit Week.

This year there was an unprecedented amount of shenanigans being perpetrated by WCA Students off campus. Rather than the playful pranking and mischief that has colored the history of Spirit Week, there were numerous complaints from those outside the Westminster community as to the destruction wreaked by WCA Students. Not only that but by Wednesday several police reports had been filed and property had been disrespected and destroyed.

In an email sent out to the Westminster Community, administrators said that “If Westminster receives further complaints or police reports related to these activities, the incidents will be investigated with the potential for class disqualification from the Spirit Week competition”.

The mayhem caused by students had gotten so out of control that administrators had to give an intense ultimatum. Act like mature young adults, or lose out on a Spirit Week victory. Luckily students came to their senses and gave up their midnight revelry; coming together as a class to put a stop to the destruction. Even though the havoc was contained, the chaotic events of this year and previous years beg the question: How does Spirit Week evolve from here?

The answer is simple: invest your time into what makes Spirit Week truly great. Throw yourself into Film Project and Art Board to

Elijah Schmidt Editor-in-Chief

create masterpieces, get your groove on in Boys Poms or Lip Sync with your peers, or enjoy the high stakes of Ultimate Chicken. Spirit Week has endured for decades because of these time honored traditions. Many have come before you and showcased their talent on that Arena floor. Invest your talents and energies into something valuable to your community.

Now without further ado, flip the page and experience the joys and excitement of Spirit Week 2025!

Seniors lift the Spirit Week trophy in triumph. Photo by Mary Hathaway.

CONTENT EDITOR, JUNIOR

JOEY FENTRESS SPORTS EDITOR, SENIOR COCO

STAFF WRITER

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Arena?

Despite the influx of new games this Spirit Week, some have remained the same including the iconic Ultimate Chicken. The game consists of similar rules to Ultimate Frisbee where the players must advance across the court by throwing the chicken to each other. For years, this game has been a fan favorite, and has had some memorable moments. Dan Petke, US Physical Education, has been a referee for around 7 years, and has been a major part in the development and history of the game. Petke said:

“I really enjoy being a part of it. I think it’s a great game for the classes to get behind each other and support their team that’s out there. It’s an entertaining game. Obviously it’s not something you do all the time [...] but I think the atmosphere, the game itself, and the level they’ve been able to play at has been very fun.”

The simplicity of the game along with the quirky premise made it an instant classic that still holds up today. When an iconic game like Ultimate Chicken is born it is destined to have memorable moments. During his entire reffing experience Petke has witnessed a lot, but his favorite memory was an unfortunate occurrence during one of the games. He said:

“This was probably 5 years ago. There were two people who went and grabbed the chicken at the same time, and were so intently wrestling for it that the chicken just ripped in half [...] The passion in which people play ultimate chicken, and that was a great demonstration of it.”

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decade-long lifespan. Although that upset was unexpected, some grades clearly have advantages over others. Petke said:

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People’s love of this game goes a long way, and the Westminster community’s passion for it is as evident today as it was when the chicken was ripped apart. Whilst teachers and refs like Petke have unique experiences,, most of the students can recall some of their favorite moments as well. Will Powers, Sophomore, searched through his memories to find his favorite ultimate chicken memory, and it did not take him long to remember. Powers said:

“When we were in eighth grade and we beat the seniors [...] We also beat the sophomores that year too [...] That has to be one of the best ultimate chicken moments ever.”

The cinderella run of the class of 2027 eighth graders is one of the most memorable moments from Ultimate Chicken’s near

“We play similar games in our classes, and the more you do it the more you get the hang of it [...] The seniors have been doing it for a while, and they’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t, and they know each other better than some of the other grade levels do.”

The history of the grades will affect the history of the games, for if seniors truly played games like this before, then they do have an advantage, and will win the majority of championships. However, the younger grades can still win, and have done so in the past, so do not lose hope. Ultimate Chicken will continue to be an iconic staple for years to come because of its intense, unexpected history, and the endless possibilities for the outcome of the match. Even though it seems ridiculous to throw a stuffed chicken across the arena, it is still important to support our grades and keep this tradition alive.

A Big Win On A Big Night

The Westminster Wildcats took down the Maplewood Blue Devils 54-37 in front of a packed home crowd on Big Night, capping off a huge evening for the school’s spirit week. Though the final score shows a comfortable win for Westminster, it was far from easy early on.

The Wildcats struggled to find their rhythm in the first quarter, managing just five points while Maplewood took an early lead. The Blue Devils’ defense was tough inside, forcing Westminster into difficult shots and keeping the home team off balance. However, the Wildcats settled in during the second quarter, coming alive with an 18-point burst to take control of the game heading into halftime.

Senior JD Robertson led the way for Westminster, finishing with a game-high 19 points. He was the spark the Wildcats needed, knocking down key shots and attacking the basket when the offense needed a boost. Sophomore Will Powers also made a big impact, providing energy and key plays on both ends of the floor to help Westminster extend its lead in the second half. Coming out of halftime, Westminster kept the momentum rolling with a 14-point third quarter. Their defense tightened up as well, limiting Maplewood’s opportunities and forcing turnovers that led to transition points. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats had built a comfortable lead, and they didn’t look back.

They closed out the game with another strong offensive effort, scoring 17 in the final frame to secure the 54-37 victory.

The win capped off a thrilling night for the Westminster community, as Big Night is one of the most anticipated events of the year. Following the game, students were treated to the annual boys’ Poms performance and the always-entertaining lip sync competition. The night concluded with the announcement of the overall spirit week winner, and fittingly, the senior class took home

The Ultimate Chicken soars into the air above two fiercely competitive teams. Photo by Cutler Fricke.

Krew Collison

The WCA Varsity Basketball team sit on the bench ready to face their opponents. Photo by Mary Hathaway.

THE IMPACT OF LIP SYNC

Coco Francisco

For the past 36 years, Westminster Christian Academy’s Spirit week has been 5 days of dress ups, intense games, and friendly(ish) competition. One of the biggest highlights of the week is girls Lip Sync, where ladies from grades 7-12 put together an elaborate lip-syncing dance with creative costumes and music to a theme of choice.

Over the years, there have been a plethora of memorable performances. The infamous Greatest Showman dance by the 2018 seniors, the Annie performance by the 2022 sophomores (which would go on to place #1 overall), and last year’s Barbie by the 2024 seniors, to just name a few. This year’s lip sync line up is riddled with creative themes and loads of talent. From Teen Beach Movie, to Wicked, the 2025 Lip Sync performances should be some of the best.

The Lip Sync themes are as followed:

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“I love lip sync because I enjoy spending time with my favorite people,” says freshman Lainey Kane.

”Practices are definitely a little chaotic, but so much fun. Seeing everyone come together and everyone encouraging each other is awesome. It’s something I really look forward to”.

This is a common response for girls at all grade levels.

”My favorite part about lip sync is being with all the girls in my grade, a lot of them I don’t see usually during school” says sophomore Sophia Bell.

”Practices can feel long sometimes, but we get a lot done thanks to our awesome leaders and I think our dance is overall really clean”.

The upper class responses are very similar.

”Our leaders are really good at teaching us the dance and they do a great job of making sure we know what we are doing” states junior Annie Vonderbrugge.

”Performing on big night is definitely my favorite part because sometimes the practices are overwhelming, but they are really good at the same time”.

This year, all eyes are on the seniors. After falling just a bit short over the past few years, they look to bounce back for one last dance in a wicked way.

“Whenever everyone starts to learn the dance well and starts to come together, it’s just really fun and super exciting,” says senior Kate French.

With enticing themes, costumes, and music, this year’s lip sync line up is definitely one to watch.

Lip Sync Results 1st

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Juniors 8th Grade 4th 5th 6th

Junior Lip Sync performing their “Aladdin” dance on Community Night. Photo by Ivey Wang.

WHY DO THE BOYS DANCE?

The Reason Behind the Boys’ Participation in Poms

Bella Thies

Boys Poms has been a core event of spirit week at our school ever since the very beginning of the tradition. Over the years, many technically impressive dances have been composed and performed at school assemblies that utterly surpassed the expectations of the Westminster community. However one question about the timehonored tradition remains unanswered: What could possibly compel a bunch of teenage boys to get together and perform a dance in front of hundreds of people?

Elijah Aucker, an eighth grader participating in Boys Poms, was able to provide a little bit of insight into the phenomenon of the boys’ participation: “I’m doing it because my mom made me.”

While this may seem like a rather blunt answer, parental pressure has actually been a big factor in getting the boys to participate in Boys Poms. Although the boys whose parents force them to participate are often reluctant to do so, in the end, they still get together with their grade to practice the dance and often form long-lasting memories and friendships in the process.

As Elijah further added, despite his parents’ direct influence on his involvement in Boys Poms: “My experience has been pretty good. I’ve got a lot of friends here.”

Furthermore, Benjamin Kettleson, a sophomore participating in Boys Poms, also commented on the camaraderie aspect of Boys Poms. He revealed that he was participating in Boys Poms: “because a lot of my friends were doing it”.

One of the biggest benefits of taking part in Boys Poms is the ability to make friends and build relationships with people you likely would not otherwise. There is something about the sheer courage it takes to be willing to perform in front of hundreds of people that truly brings people together and forms a sense of community between them.

The sheer peculiarity of such an event brings students from different classes and social groups together in a way that they would never truly experience in the course of regular school. Not only does the event foster new friendships, but it also reinforces old ones as well.

Ultimately, the truth behind the boys’ willingness to participate in such a potentially embarrassing event stems from their desire to connect to and spend time with their peers. So whether you take part in a performance or watch from the bleachers, be sure to cheer for the students in Boys Poms because it is a huge commitment of their time, money, and energy to participate in the event for the sake of building camaraderie with their peers.

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Senior Boys Poms perform their “Fast and Furious” dance. Photo by Mary Hathaway.

Junior Boys Poms perform their “Construction” dance. Photo by Bella Thies

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE SCENES

Mary Hathaway

Since 2012, Spirit Week’s Big Event, Film Project, has been an opportunity for students from each grade level to come together in different roles to act, direct, and produce a short film. The film is a special opportunity for grades to compete in categories such as production and execution as well as plot and storyline, with characters and props being an important aspect.

Elijah Schmidt, producer of the Senior Class’ Film Project, explains “Film Project is a great way for young student leaders and filmmakers to show off their talents through rigorous competition.”

Schmidt has been producing his class’ Film Project for the last four years, and has grown in many ways since beginning his first film as a Freshmen. He describes that “As you go through your four-year time making films, you will learn a lot about not just filmmaking but also how to lead a team and work together with other people. I know that my perspective has definitely changed for the better.”

Abel Tucker, Elijah’s fellow Senior and Film Project expert, has been directing, acting, or editing the film for the last three years, and has learned many things about the filmmaking process, including the importance of planning: “Even if you have a good idea and a good group of people, if you can’t plan and execute it well, it doesn’t matter. It’s important to be able to adapt when people can’t make it or are busy with other practices for Spirit Week. You need to be able to stay diligent in keeping up with everything because if you don’t, you’ll end up poorly organized and things will fall apart.”

Tucker explains how he has “grown in leadership aspects because of the way Film Project, especially out of the Spirit Week events, requires a lot of leadership skills. You have to be able to put together a team, pull in actors and a crew, and lead those people efficiently and give them confidence while utilizing their particular strengths and skills.”

David Creel, producer of the sophomore film project, explains how “we had many people with a lot of different skill sets so it was fun to learn how to incorporate everyone’s ideas while effectively staying with the main story.”

During the process, Creel learned that “it is better to over-communicate with your people rather than under-communicate” and that “it is necessary to delegate specific roles so that there can be more clarity during the process. For example, if the actors are constantly trying to direct, there will be very little effective leadership or organization.”

Although many of the younger grade’s films have room for improvement, by the time the young beginners become upperclassmen, they have almost always evolved and learned about the best ways to execute a well-done Film Project.

Film Project Results

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Juniors 7/8 Grade 4th 5th

From Left: Chase Borage and Abel Tucker shooting their Film Project “The Waterman”. Photo by Nevan Shively

ART FOR THE LONG HALL

Joseph Moore

Over the years, art board has given the Westminster community beautiful and creative designs. However, those who were involved with Westminster when it still sat in the Ladue campus remember a time before art board. The predecessor to art board in the big four was known as “hallways” and, as its name suggests, it was an event where each class would completely decorate their hallways with intricate artwork. The basic rules were that on Wednesday night of spirit week they had until ten p.m. to set up after school and on Friday night they had two hours to tear it all down (with the threat of point deductions if done too late).

Mike Rohlfing, an alumni of Westminster, describes his experience with “hallways”:

“Extreme; intense; over the top; had a lot of participation because each class had an entire hallway to decorate. That is not just the walls but floor, ceiling and whatever else you wanted to do[…] I remember walking out of class Friday and having to pause to remember where I was. It was very immersive.”

The “hallways” were in your face and everyone closely experienced them during spirit week. I believe that it is the immersive nature of “hallways” that gathered the enthusiastic participation of so many students. Art board is beautiful and this year they were particularly awe inspiring but they are small and can often feel to the side. For example, the class of 2025 had so many people at art board at lunch this year that not everyone could work at once because there simply was not enough space; a completely opposite the problems of the last couple years during which

they struggled with having enough hands on deck.

Furthermore, Gideon Schwamb a student of class of 2025, a leader in art board for the past four years, offers his opinions:

“[With “hallways”] Everyone gets a chance to contribute and see those same contributions which gives positive feedback and encouragement. It also requires people to go all in. There is even more room for creativity as many leaders can take over small areas and see their visions come to life.”

“Hallways” gave students their own massive space. In some ways the increased necessary commitment brings people to the job. Also, as Gideon said, there is only room for a couple of visions on an art board, but “hallways” could be a collection of many different small groups of artists coordinating while still getting to see their personal ideas come to life. However, not only the ringleader artists feel a sense of accomplishment. The monumental task of putting together an entire hallway in one night requires many people and those same people will feel much more connected as they walk around the next two days and see the fruits of their labor.

History is repeating itself as students now put up decorations, although to a lesser degree, in their class hallways. Art board is only a limited version of its predecessor, and it is time to embrace our history and bring back the spectacle of “hallways”. There is every reason to let Westminster students further display their creativity in the grandeur of massive 3D models and unlimited designs.

AN INTENSE RIVALRY FOR THE AGES

Over the past 36 years the rivalry between the upper school grades during spirit week has been nothing short of dramatic, but there seems to be something different about the rivalry this year. Specifically, a greater spotlight of hatred has been put on the seniors.

“Everyone wants to beat the top dogs but our grade wants it even more this year so we can keep their losing streak going, at least in poms and lip sync” says junior Kamia Clevelend.

The seniors have lost boys poms to the juniors for three years straight and have lost to lip sync for two years in a row.

Junior Kate Sowers thinks that the seniors are “rowdy and annoying and prone to cause trouble”.

She isn’t too far off on the prone-to-cause trouble angle. From a slip-and-slide in the freshman hallway to getting disqualified from boys’ poms for illegal flips, the class of 2025 has had their share of frivolous pranks. But why would this cause such discourse from the juniors?

“I feel like they’re going to take away the senior prank by vandalizing the school so badly that they won’t let future classes do the pranks” says Sowers.

So the juniors seem to be concerned that the seniors causing havoc is going to stop them from doing the same, and it seems the sophomores have a similar fear.

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“They do all these pranks and fun little things and now no one else can do it” states sophomore Schuyler Antony.

Now the seniors seem to believe that this hatred is unwarranted and far too extreme.

“All of our grade and mainly the girls in the senior class have to suffer the consequences of the boys’ bad actions from freshman year. We’re seniors, that was three years ago, and it seems like teachers and students still hold these little pranks against us” explains Senior Myah DeRossett.

Furthermore, the rivalry has grown due to the other grades believing they have a very good chance of beating the seniors in poms and lip sync.

“The juniors and underclassmen immediately assume we’re going to suck at lipsync and poms and barade us about how bad we are and how we’re going to lose to the juniors and even possibly the sophomores” states Derossett.

As this rivalry continues to grow and the classes dislike for the seniors brews stronger, the senior class only becomes closer and more tightly knit.