Blue and White Brings the Pep!
March 8, 2017
After weeks of preparation under the guidance of Madame Shahin and Mrs. Bartlett, the Blue and White Society hosted a Spring Pep Rally on Friday, March 3rd. NAHS students gathered in the school’s gym to celebrate school spirit. Prior to the Pep Rally students could be found in the halls exchanging face paint and markers to blazon themselves in blue and white.
While students were getting ready to enter the gym for pep rally many snapped pictures of spirited classmates to post on social media and record the event. The roster for this Spring Pep Rally was filled with many talented students including NAHS cheerleaders, drumline, basketball players representing both the girls’ and boys’ teams, senior winter athletes, and GIP dancers. Mr. Elias welcomed the student body as the MC until he handed it off to the student announcers, Craig Lacy (12th) and Melanie (Soraya) Villanueva (12th).
Pep Rally started with a introduction of the flags by the award-winning NAHS JROTC color guard. As the American flag stood, the Select Choir sang the national anthem flawlessly while the entire gymnasium stood for respect. Most traditionally put their right hand over their heart while others raised a fist above their heads in a proclamation of “black power.”
The NAHS cheer squad took the center floor to ramp up the enthusiasm with an E-A-G-L-E-S chant. The squad quickly moved into a dance performance full with lifts and flips. Cheerleaders rolled up their mats with the help of sponsors and administrators in order to welcome the senior athletes of Winter sports.
Next the GIP dancers took the main floor in traditional dashikis to accentuate the cultural numbers chosen for this event. After performing at the past two school-wide pep rallies, GIP changed the genre of their selections by replacing the student-taught teacher dance with dances influenced by African and Hispanic cultures. Junior coach, Sharrisa Santos said the entire performance was estimated to take “at least 5 minutes,” and exclaimed a resounding “of course!” when asked if she would take over for Andrea Morgan, the current Senior Coach. Many who look forward to GIP performances at pep rallies were pleased to see the newer recruits join some of the numbers wearing black. This reassured fans that the GIP group will continue.
NAHS students cheered each other on during the whole pep rally and even cheered for Mr. Elias as he contended with Justin Ulmer (12th) and Beyonce Collins (11th) in the three-point contest. Again, this was a change in format from the Fall Pep Rally where teachers and students competed in a foul shooting contest. This time the three contestants had to shoot three-pointers from designated spots around the basket. While it was close at times, Beyonce Collins (11th) won the contest beating out both males during the first days of Women’s History month.
The finale of the Pep Rally was with our sophomore class introducing Principal Smith as the winner of the Pie-in-the-Face contest. Weeks prior to Pep Rally,students and teachers were encouraged to try to donate money to pie a teacher in the face. The teacher or administrator who got the most money in their buckets during lunch periods was scheduled to “be pied” at the end of pep rally. The contenders for this fundraiser included: Ms. Boyle, Ms. Bolinski, Mr. Tancredi, Mr. Schaefer, Ms. Garman, and Principal Smith. During the fundraiser, students tried to urge faculty on faculty contention, even trying to get Dr. Samuels to donate to a bucket. However, Principal Smith was a good sport in taking the whipped cream pie tin right to the face. Many onlookers watched the spectacle with mouths wide, but most soon turned into a smile realizing it is all in good fun.
