Spirit Week Making Big Comeback at LHS

It's Spirit Week at Ledyard High School, and this year there appears to be a renewed emphasis on school spirit, silliness and fun. "We're focusing more on the light-hearted stuff," said Carol Schwenk, career development coordinator and junior class advisor, who helped organize this year's celebration.

"We're trying to pay a little more attention to it this year, to Colonel pride and school spirit," Schwenk said.  "Students tend to get so focused on standardized tests and applying to colleges and resume building. This week we just want the kids to be kids and have a good time."

Each day of the week had a theme, such as "tie-dye day," and "opposite day," on which the girls dressed as boys and the boys dressed as girls. T-shirts were created for the week – a bold color for each class – and a homecoming pageant was held Thursday evening. Although Friday's pep rally was postponed because of weather, the celebration will resume with tonight's football game versus Waterford, followed by a homecoming dance on Saturday night.

Week has serious side

Amid all the fun and festivities, however, there is a serious side to this year's event. Students are using the week-long celebration to raise awareness – and money – for Invisible Children, a non-profit group that fights the abduction of children in Uganda – children who are then forced to take up arms and become soldiers.

Senior Bethany Holland said she has been involved with Invisible Children throughout her years at Ledyard High School. "We finally got the Invisible Children road crew to come to our school. We wanted to spread the word of the atrocities going on in Uganda, and we thought that was the perfect way to do it."

At a recent all-school assembly, students watched a video and heard the stories of four volunteers and two young women from Uganda who were directly affected by the persistent strife in that country. Holland said students were deeply moved by the program.

As a result, students are hoping to raise $12,000 to build a radio tower in Northern Uganda that would assist communication efforts among aid groups and volunteers. "It sounds ambitious, but I have every expectation that we'll reach our goal," said Holland, a member of the Ledyard High School girls varsity soccer team. 

The means of raising money for the radio tower has taken the form of a competition among the four classes at the school. Four large jars have been set up in the cafeteria, and members of each class can do their part by donating pennies to the appropriate jar. Each penny is worth a point.

Students can boost the chances of their class winning the competition by depositing nickels, dimes and quarters into their rivals' jars. When the contents of each jar are tallied at the end of the week, the larger coins will be subtracted from the total. 

Student organizers expect the competitive aspect of the fund-raiser should add to the fun, and also the total dollars. "We think it's really going to take off as the week progresses," said junior Alex Manwaring, a member of the varsity football team.

His teammate, senior Austin Sabo, who worked with Holland, Manwaring and others to organize the event, said Spirit Week had been in decline in recent years. 

"When I was a freshmen I was told that Spirit Week was this big thing that everyone looked forward to. But during my four years here I noticed it was sort of dying down," he said. "So we were trying to think of ways we could bring it back and get more students involved."

Revival of Spirit

"We just started with more advertising and more awareness of what the days were, and the themes, because we wanted kids to really go at it with an enthusiastic attitude," Manwaring said. "So far we've seen a lot more enthusiasm, and we're hoping that it will all culminate on Friday with the pep rally."

Sabo said the Uganda project is helping to drive this year's participation. "When the group from Invisible Children came to our school," he said, "it sort of brought everyone closer together."

Spirit Week activities included a homecoming pageant that was held Thursday evening, at which a homecoming king and queen were chosen. Tonight's kickoff versus Waterford is 6:30 at Mignault Field. Manwaring, one of the leading rushers in the conference, said it should be a great game.

"It's a conference match-up, and both teams are 3-1," he said. "Waterford is a very good football team. ... We're both looking to get a win."

The homecoming dance is Saturday night, from 7 to 11 p.m. in the school gymnasium.

Jillian McCarthy, another senior who helped organize Spirit Week, said the event definitely made a comeback this year. 

"If only one or two people dress up, they just feel kind of weird. And that's what it felt like my freshman year," McCarthy said. "I feel like all the classes, and especially our class, have a lot more spirit this year."

Schwenk said she was very pleased with this year's energy level. "I'm from the Midwest," she said, "so this is great."