Salida High School recently had their annual Winterfest dance and Spirit Week. This event brought students together through themed dress-up days and after dance activities designed to encourage participation and school spirit.
Spirit week began with a class colors theme to represent their grade level on Monday. Freshman wore blue, Sophomores wore green, Juniors wore black and Seniors wore white. Throughout the school day the class colors showed support for the different grades. Tuesday’s theme was 2016 day. Students had the option to either dress like they used to dress in 2016 or follow the popular trends in 2016. This day had the hallways full of flannels, chokers and teal. On Wednesday the theme was wild Wednesday where students chose between animal print or safari themed attire. A wide variety of clothing was worn ranging from fun patterns like cheetah print to outdoor accessories such as a safari hat. Thursday’s theme was a classic Spartan out. The school was filled with purple,the Spartan mascot adorning hoodies and shirts everywhere.
Maggie Hughes, a sophomore at Salida High School, said, “I love participating in Spirit Week because it gets me excited for all the school events and it’s fun to have something to look forward to every day.”
Many students and staff participated in the spirit days providing a united display of school pride. Thursday night the school crowded the students section at the basketball game covered in pink for the night’s theme and energized with the excitement of Winterfest royalty. The nominees for Winterfest King were Cal Hill, Finn Blackburn, Logan Kamalei, Joe Anch and Lennon Helm.The nominees for Winterfest Queen were Stella Zettler, Braeden Johnson, Nora Paschall and Savannah Landry. At halftime during the varsity boys game the nominees were escorted by family members onto the court. Earlier in the week, students were able to vote for who they wanted to be King and Queen. Cal Hill and Nora Paschall were elected King and Queen for Winterfest.
On Saturday night students were able to take pictures at the Steamplant around 5:00 P.M. The official dance was held on Saturday night in the SHS commons. The dance lasted from 8 to 10 PM. Junior, Ethan McFarland said, “The dance was pretty fun because I got to hang out with my friends.” Sophomore, Kian Ward agreed with McFarland and continued to say, “The music should be updated because the same songs are too repetitive.”
After the dance, students met at the Elk Lodge for a chance to win up to $500 at bingo. Amy Triandiflou and Heather Gorby were the main coordinators for this event and tacos from Dos A’s were served along with cookies. The event managed to raise $2,000 from multiple sponsors. Students played ten games with each game the cash prize increasing. Braeden Johnson, a senior, won the largest cash prize of $500 in the last game of the night. This event provided students with a safe and fun time to wrap up their week. Sophomore Nola Tracy says, “I really enjoyed the fun post-dance event and think that it was a great opportunity for students to connect with each other in a safe environment.” Overall this week provided a fun break from the monotonous repetition of school and provided students with an opportunity to bond with their peers in a stress free environment.
