Photo by Jack Tumpowsky
Hannah Hepner and Allie Floros
Managing Editors of News
Within the past few years, Newton South’s lack of school spirit has been a highly talked about subject among the faculty and the students. Events such as the Lip Dub and Spirit Week have been organized and highly promoted in the hopes of getting people more excited about being part of the community.
This year, administration decided to move the annual Pep Rally to the beginning of September, as opposed to its usual date before Thanksgiving break, as well as schedule a second Pep Rally in February.
Principal Joel Stembridge is excited about this new change and is determined to figure out what placement of the event will work best. He thinks the chosen week will be beneficial due to the other events taking place this week like the Friday Night Lights football game and One School One Question Day.
“We decided to do September because it coincides with when we have the lights for the field and would be a really exciting thing for South spirit…we thought ‘why not?’ If they’re fun, let’s do two of them,” Stembridge said.
Alisha Stadnicki, a junior at South, explains that she does not mind the change in time for the event. However, she is frustrated about not receiving news about the jerseys that are traditionally worn by the upperclassmen girls during the Pep Rally, as they were something she was excited about.
“I’m upset that we haven’t heard anything about our jerseys yet. That’s what I had looked forward to most, so I wish we could’ve at least had that,” Stadnicki said.
While underclassmen do not know too much about the Pep Rally, they all enjoyed the event last year and are looking forward to experiencing a fun all school gathering again. Sophomore Rachel Shepard thinks getting people involved in the school at an earlier time will help them feel more part of the community.
Senior Alexandra Leiber is in full support of the change in date, stating that she is hopeful that more people will be able to attend the event, and therefore the school will feel more united.
“I always left for Thanksgiving on Tuesday night so I always missed the pep rally on Wednesday,” Lieber said. “So I think the change will definitely improve school spirit because more people will be there.”
The administration and students are all dedicated to trying to improve the community of Newton South, and hopefully, these minor changes will create the results everyone is hoping for.
