This week, HBA high and middle school students will explore the question, “What if playground games were in real life?” With the seniors as “Infection,” the juniors as “Night at the Museum,” the sophomores as “Cops and Robbers,” the freshmen as “Marco Polo,” and the middle schoolers as “Hide and Seek,” each class will compete for the chance to win the coveted Mana Cup in this year’s Spirit Week.

Beginning on January 16, each grade will show their spirit through dress-up days, games, cheers, and the traditional Pepper Squad skits. This year will see a couple of modifications. One is the return of Platform Jam, which was discontinued during COVID-19, with some changes to how things are scored. Due to the small class size of this year’s seniors—there are only 80 seniors while the other classes have over 100 students—”the grade that gets their entire class on the platforms wins first place”, according to this year’s Spirit Week handbook. If another class matches or exceeds 80, that class will also be awarded first place points. Secondly, instead of the usual Spirit Week Fundraiser, students can earn points for their classes by signing up or finding volunteers to donate blood or food for the upcoming HBA blood donation drive in March.

Amid the preparations, senior Jadynn Wong, the student council president, is looking forward to Spirit Week. “I think this year’s prep is going pretty smoothly, but it was only possible thanks to our volunteers and our class council who coordinated everything,” Wong said. In particular, Wong is excited for the Pepper Squad performances. “You get to see a bunch of people dancing to fun songs and really see the class come together,” she added.

The dress-up days are as follows:

Tuesday: BBQ Dads and Soccer Moms
Wednesday: Barbie Day
Thursday: Pepper Squad & Class Shirt Day
Friday: Black, White & Gold Day
For details and rules on dress-up days, students should refer to the Spirit Week Dress Guide provided by the Student Council.

The assembly competitions are as follows:

Tuesday: Tug-of-War
Wednesday: Platform Jam
Thursday: Pepper Squad
Friday: All-School Cheer
All-School Cheers can be viewed on this document. Competition rules and scoring criteria can be found in the 2024 Spirit Week Handbook.

The week will follow a modified bell schedule.
Follow the Eagle Eye on Instagram for updates throughout Spirit Week.