Spirit Week

Text by MERWA MAROF and OLIVIA MILNE spirit week guide

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT MAGICAL WEEK IN OCTOBER

BLEACHERS SHAKE viciously beneath hundreds of jumping feet and the sound of cleverly crafted chants filling the air as class representatives race to finish wrapping their vice presidents in toilet paper. These students’ joyous cheers and elaborate outfits can mean only one thing at Palo Alto High School –– Spirit Week.

This year, Spirit Week will run from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15 with the homecoming dance held on Oct. 16. The week consists of daily dress-up themes for each grade, competitive spirit rallies during lunch and the homecoming football game and dance over the weekend — the icing on top of an already exciting cake.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Spirit Week was canceled last year. Unfortunately, this means current Paly underclassmen have never experienced the thrill of Spirit Week and current Paly juniors have only had the pleasure of partaking in this event once. If you are searching for inspriation to navigate this lively affair, look no further. v

Spirited schedule

Art by Blair Migdal

Freshmen Sophomores

Monday: Construction Tuesday: Sportswear Wednesday: Orange Thursday: Babies Friday: Green and white Monday: Red carpet Tuesday: Ranch Wednesday: Red Thursday: Greasers and Teeny-Boppers Friday: Green and white

Juniors

Monday: Yellow Submarine Tuesday: TBD Wednesday: Yellow Thursday: Occupation day Friday: Green and white

Seniors

Monday: Y2K Tuesday: Caesar Wednesday: Green and white Thursday: Elderly Friday: Camouflage

TUGGING AWAY (TOP)— Paly sophomores yank their team to victory, defeating the freshmen in a hectic game of tug of war during the 2019 Spirit Week. “I love spirit rallies,” Paly senior Natalie Chueh says. “It’s so fun to go crazy in the stands cheering for your grade.” Photo: Eva Mankos

REACHING FOR VICTORY (RIGHT)—Paly junior Julian Galindo races to grab the handle of a ping pong paddle and yell the name of a pop song to win points for his class during the first day of school pep rally. “We will be doing guess that song again,” senior Class President Mathew Signorello-Katz said. “we will be putting more effort into that because I don’t think there has been in the past.” Photo: Emily Yao

FIERY FRESHMEN (LEFT)— Paly freshmen Charlotte McIntosh and Mallory Mcnee cheer passionately for their class at the height of a bottle flip competition during the 2019 spirit week. “It [Spirit Week] is a competition between grades in some ways,” senior Class President Mathew Signorello-Katz said. “But it’s also really a week for the whole school to bond together.” Photo: Eva Mankos