Lack of school spirit in Legacy’s pep rallies inspired a group of teachers and administrators to come together and make changes to the event. Student council sponsor Kenna Cavnar implemented a new pep rally format to keep students engaged.
“[We changed the pep rallies because] people weren’t involved,” Ms. Cavnar said. “[Students] didn’t want to go and they didn’t pay attention. So we’ve been focused on how to increase student engagement in the pep rallies and how to get more school spirit.”
Originally, pep rallies included the National Anthem, drumline, games and performances by both cheer and drill teams. Students will no longer participate in games or the singing of the National Anthem.
“We felt like they were too long and the games tended to take too long to set up and [break down] so we lost a lot of the crowd,” Ms. Cavnar said. “We decided to try and streamline, which is also why we took out the National Anthem. We want people to come in, get hyped up and stay hyped up. And when you have to stop to do the National Anthem we just felt like that was a little bit awkward.”
The pep rallies will now feature theater teacher Jeremy Ferman and AP US History teacher Michael Keel as emcees. Senior Andrew Bates appreciated the changes after the first pep rally of the year and agreed they have made progress.
“I see where they’re trying to improve them,” Bates said. “I think they’ll find what’s right, but right now it’s still a work in progress.”
Changes not only mean cuts, but additions as well. The pep rally schedule will now include the class yell, Bronco Boogie and opportunities for each class alike to show their school spirit. Whichever class displays the most enthusiasm during the pep wins the Spirit Stick. New faces, such as freshman Lisa Orie, have already taken a liking to Legacy’s new and improved pep rallies.
“It’s really hectic but I like that it’s loud,” Orie said. “I like that you get to be with all your friends too.”
StuCo also looks to add pep rallies throughout the school year to include more sports, such as basketball, soccer and spring sports in order to incorporate more of the student body.
“We want to make sure that all sports are treated equally as far as school spirit goes,” Ms. Cavnar said.
Already creating some buzz, the first pep rally of the year produced encouraging results.
“I think overall there was a positive reaction,” Ms. Cavnar said. “I think we saw a lot of people participate. The room was packed. I think everybody overall felt like it was one of the best pep rallies we’ve had in a long time.”
