Student Council kicked off the school year with a carnival-themed tailgate to precede the first home football game of the season. The quad, adorned with games ranging from corn hole to potato sack racing, was packed with students lining up at the face paint and hairspray stands to add a little more color to their all-white attire.

While First Friday is a long-standing tradition, notable differences every year keep the experience fresh: new Vikings, new tailgate themes, and new students in the Academy section. What stood out most about this First Friday was our spirit.

More often than not, we’re out-screamed by the Lower School at pep rallies or our cheers taper off midway during football games. This year’s spirit squad set out to change that, for First Friday was a resounding success.

Led by seniors Jacinta Crestanello and Tin Le, the spirit squad roared cheer after cheer, even when the student body’s response was lacking. The squad’s enthusiasm caught on, and soon enough we were completing the majority of our cheers with more participation than I’ve ever seen.

“I enjoyed how the student section stayed standing the whole game, because they usually just sit down after halftime. That helped me feel more motivated to stay hyped up,” said Tin Le.

Another challenge the spirit squad faced throughout the game was keeping all the students focused on the cheers. No one wants a cheer to sound disorganized or feeble. In response to this, Jacinta Crestanello said, “…we are going to go over [the cheers] soon so that everyone is on board.”

Similarly, Tin Le said,  “I do think we need to come up with more cheers as well as familiarize the ones we already know.”

While progress needs to be made, it seems that the Vikings have a plan in mind.