By Elizabeth Grace ’15, Co Perspectives Section Editor
Though Country Day students boast a high level of school spirit every week of the year, no one could doubt that homecoming week proves year after year to be the most spirited of them all. They don’t call it “spirit week” for nothing.
Monday, normally a day of sadness and lethargy, turned the hallways to rivers of rainbows for Neon Day. Even for those who had stayed up late to finish that essay or study for that test, fatigue was not an option; neon yellow t-shirts, dyed hair, and flashing lights proved better stimulants than caffeine.
Tuesday’s “Country” Day shone no less bright (well, literally it did; you can’t really top neon in luminosity). Freshmen pulled winter coats from their closets a few months early to represent Greenland. Bravely they traversed a land much too warm for their attire. Preparing for their safari, the sophomores really brought out their inner-khaki-loving selves to represent Tanzania. Despite the lack of typical safari animals, watching Country Day students go all-out for spirit week proved a sufficient spectacle. Reminiscent of our long-lost summers, the juniors’ Fiji attire got everyone wondering why we aren’t on a beach somewhere instead of sitting in class. Topping off the hula skirts and beach attire, flowers were so numerous that those with pollen allergies sneezed simply by looking at them. The Señors, embracing the red, white, and green, represented Mexico with a variety of sombreros, jalapeños, and sombreros shaped like jalapeños.
While the sophomores and juniors tested for success, the freshmen and seniors (as well as some particularly spirited PSAT-takers) dressed to impress. And impress they certainly did. Looking very dapper,
Country Day gentlemen suited up very nicely while the ladies’ attire seemed the epitome of class. Compensating for the overload of color on Monday, most of the dresses seemed to lie in the greyscale.
Country Day students teamed up on Thursday to become the most dynamic of duos and tremendous of twins. Hilarity ensued. Ketchup and mustard, an angel and a devil, and Peach and Mario were some of the more expected, yet amazingly executed, of pairs; it truly could not
have been Duo Day without them. Other couples few students expected. Among the most amusing included a gorilla and a banana; Marlin, Dory, and Nemo; and, of course, Brooks Warner ’14 as Wynonna Judd.
On Friday, students got pumped up for the homecoming game by piling on blue and white in as many layers as possible. Face paint, morph suits, and headdresses paraded the halls, showing just how spirited Country Day students really are.
The pep rally, second only to the homecoming game itself in the level of spirit, began as per tradition with the portrayal of an Indian defeating a Knight: foreshadowing for the game to come. Country Day students of all ages gathered at the football field to yell, scream, and yell some more. Spirit week winners for each grade were announced over the shrieks of enthusiastic Indians. Freshmen DR Williams and Sophie Hudson, sophomores James McAlevey and Kathryn Burress, juniors Connor Wiley and Isabelle Hudson, and seniors Drew Eichel and Annie Mullee each took home bragging rights that they, among a sea full of students with vast amounts of Country Day pride, were the most spirited of them all. Winning the Grant Hesser award, Mullee earned the spirit award all four years of high school.
At the height of spirit week lies the homecoming game itself. This year, the student section was overflowing and the rest of the stands tightly packed. With the Country Day cheerleaders, students loudly encouraged their friends on the football team with cheers and even songs, as was the case when everyone in the bleachers sang Happy Birthday for Darryn Jordan ‘16 after he scored a touchdown. Though the Knights came out with the first touchdown, the Indians were in the lead for the majority of the game, keeping students on the edge of their seats (even though no one was sitting). When the game came to an end, with Country Day winning 35-27, the student section gathered by the field for a heartfelt rendition of Country Day’s alma mater before rushing onto the field to congratulate the undefeated football team. It truly was a magical moment for all in attendance.
Though 2013’s homecoming week has come and gone, Country Day’s spirit will not subside. No matter what time of year, the Indians will always have an unrivaled pride in their school and the people within.
