The last pep rally for the school year was on April 22nd. There have been many comments, questions, and con- cerns regarding all the sports pep rallies throughout the school year. Sports pep rallies were introduced to our school in 2015. The rallies were created to show the school’s appreciation for our sports teams and to increase school spirit, and as an ASB member, I can honestly say that the improvement this year has been immense.

The first pep rally our school intro- duced had all of the sports teams. This created many concerns when there wasn’t enough time to introduce all of them. So for this year’s pep rallies ASB split all of the pep rallies by the season of sports. Making it a total of 3 pep rallies; girl’s volleyball and cross country; boy’s and girl’s soccer; and boy’s baseball, Lady A’s softball, and boy’s volleyball.

Do the pep rallies really show school spirit and appreciation for our teams? Have they truly improved and progressed?

Although there have been some clear improvements, I do think there should be further improvements made so that the pep rallies run smoothly. From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that they don’t run as smoothly as they could or should. And we also need a wider array of pep rallies, not just for sports.

ASB member, Osvaldo V. states, “Well yes. The reason for the yes is that we’re learning from our mistakes. I mean in our previous rallies we’ve had sound issues and also the problem of the rallies ending too early or not having anything to do in that time, along with other is- sues. I feel that in organizing this last pep rally we’ve been addressing these problems instead of putting them aside. I certainly feel we’ve been improving. Hopefully it’s uphill from here for next year. But be assured that we’ll keep working hard to improve these rallies.”

The first pep rally we had was at the end of the last school year. There was many complications with time and sound during that time, and a lack of student participation. However, during the last pep rally for this school year, there was an increase in student participation and the quality of the sound systems were better than before.

It’s really important to have these pep rallies, because it acknowledges all the sports teams. However, our school’s pep rallies only acknowledge the sports teams. There are many clubs and impor- tant events that happen within those clubs in HMSA that many students don’t know about. Perhaps ASB could create pep ral- lies for those clubs too. Having pep ral- lies for other clubs would help students know more about them and encourage them to join the clubs they like. The pep rallies could introduce the members, leaders, and possibly any awards/reviews the students may have received. Before- hand, not everyone really knew what was going on with the games or really knew who were our school representatives for all these sports. Now, we know all the players, coaches, and all the information for the games. If there were pep rallies for the other clubs as well, then this would also be the situation for them. Pep ral- lies increase school spirit and are a great way to have an exciting CP filled with cheers and praise for our fellow students.

A few improvements the pep rallies could have are possibly having them before the season starts to pump up the players. It should include all the other clubs as well. Also, it could have more games and other activities that will in- volve the students. ASB Advisor, Ms. Kratz states, “ I think we need to make the presentations at the rallies more vis- ible to the students. Right now, with the students standing, only those at the front really get a view of the teams being in- troduced. Perhaps this can be done with having a stage the teams stand on so they are raised above the crowd and/or audito- rium style seating for the different class- es. Also, I think it would be great if we design some games/activities that will get the crowd enthused (ie. doing the wave, having noise makers, providing pompoms, class chants, etc.) Overall I see the schedule being (1) class chants & activi- ties, (2) recognition of the sports team(s) and (3) unifying chants for the entire HMSA student population. That should be enough to fill a 30 minute block of time!” Hopefully the next year will have more electrifying and encouraging pep rallies. Good job ASB, there has been quite an improvement, but we need more!