Day 1

Spirit Week officially commenced on Oct. 2 with grade-level theme day, competitions for best dressed at brunch, and a tug-of-war competition during lunch. The themes were “Y2K” for seniors, “Pirates” for juniors, “Super Mario Bros” for sophomores, and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for freshmen.

Seniors finished first in both the best-dressed contest and the tug-of-war competition.

Sophomore ASB President David Wu said it took a lot of effort to prepare for the event.

“It took a lot of planning, basically from the end of last year to the start of this year; all the way, everything has been planned meticulously,” Wu said.

Senior ASB Vice President Mike Song said rallies were the best part of Spirit Week because of how they showcased talent and spirit.

“(Rallies are) always so exciting, especially when we have (them) indoors because you can really hear the cheers,” Song said. “Also, you can hear the different spirits and just collaboration between all the different classes.”

Senior Kyle Li said the rally went well because of the vibrant energy from all the classes.

“Everyone brought their spirit,” Li said. “Everyone just cheered, and there was a pretty good community.”

Wu also said he was excited to see the sophomores engage in the variety of Spirit Week events that ASB offered this year.

“I’m looking forward to all the activities, but especially seeing all of the spirit there is, from best dressed to rallies to quote building to spirit dance to everything,” Wu said.

Day 2

On Day 2 of Spirit Week, the theme was “Healthy Choice” for freshmen, “Ranch Dressing” for sophomores, “Green Goddess” for juniors and “Caesar Salad” for seniors. The main events were the Human Ring Toss and Balloon Pop Relay at lunch, along with the best-dressed competition at brunch.

In the best-dressed competition, the seniors finished first, the juniors finished second, the sophomores finished third and the freshmen finished fourth.

The spirit rally was relocated from the small gym to the football field.

ASB Freshman Senator Paul Wang said despite the freshmen not placing well in the challenges, he still has high hopes they can manage a comeback.

“Although we placed last and then every one of them, I think that we’re still able to make a comeback this week,” Wang said.

Sophomore Matteo Saffer said the rally went well for the sophomores, especially during some of the games.

“I think that (the sophomores) did pretty well (because we) just got first place in the relay race, so not too bad,” Saffer said.

Wang said he looks forward to the rest of the activities during the week and the homecoming events on the weekend.

“I am pretty excited because it’s my first official spirit week at Paly,” Wang said. “I’m especially excited for the homecoming football game and the homecoming dance.”

Wang also said all classes have brought energy to spirit week in general, whether they are through cheers or following the daily dress-up themes.

“All the classes, especially the seniors, have brought a lot of spirit in the spirit chants,” Wang said. “A lot of people dressed up, and one of the kids in our grade bought a surfboard.”

Day 3

On Day 3 of Spirit Week, the theme was class colors: orange for freshmen, red for sophomores, yellow for juniors and green for seniors. The main events were “Name that Tune” and “Giant Cornhole,” which took place in the Earl Hansen Viking Stadium. In the best-dressed competition, the seniors finished first, the juniors finished second, the sophomores finished third and the freshmen finished fourth.

Student Activities Director Steven Gallagher confirmed that the relocation of the spirit rally was due to the broken bleachers at the big gym.

“Considering (the big gym was unavailable),  I think it went really well and I think we got more people out here and it was much more spirited,” Gallagher said.

ASB Spirit Commissioner senior Hannah Jensen also said the rally went well, despite the unexpected location switch.

“But given our circumstances today, honestly, I felt there was a better energy overall,” Jensen said. “Everybody was more hype.”

Gallagher also said it was nice to see Spirit Week come together after a lot of planning done by ASB.

“Everyone’s coming together, and it’s just the floats, it’s (the rallies), it’s the homecoming dance coming up, and you know, everyone’s just working really hard, and it’s really nice to see it coming together.”

Furthermore, Jensen said that she also appreciated the efforts ASB has put into Spirit Week.

She said, “All the ASB officers are working together to help one another, and that’s really important.”

Day 4

During Day 4 of Spirit Week, the theme was “Senior Citizens” for seniors, “Professional Career” for juniors, “Teeny Boppers in the ‘50s” for sophomores and “Babies” for freshmen. The events today were the Teacher’s Dance and the Bubble Ball relay.

The bubble ball relay was a relay race with one student rolling in a bubble ball, grabbing a vest, and then limbo under a rope to put the vest in hula hoops that formed a tic-tac-toe game. Freshmen placed first, followed by the seniors in second, and juniors and sophomores tying for third place.

Senior Lorenzo Lisi said that all the different elements of Spirit Week have come together to make it fun and enjoyable.

“I think spirit week has been going great,” Lisi said. “I love float building, I love rallies and I love dressing up. It’s wonderful.”

ASB Senior Representative Austin Eng said his favorite part of Spirit Week was seeing the senior class rally together to show spirit.

“My favorite part of spirit week so far has been the unity that I’ve seen within my class,” Eng said. “I feel like we all came together as a collective senior class to show our spirit and our energy as a whole.”

ASB Sophomore Senator Kacey Carey said that she was looking forward to the final day of spirit week.

“’I’m super excited for the dance tomorrow. The dance practices have been really fun. Sophomores at least I’ve had a really great turnout,” Carey said.

Lisi also said he has mixed emotions about this being his last spirit week at Paly.

“It’s bittersweet,” Lisi said. “The last week is always the most fun one, but it is the last one, which is kind of sad.”

Day 5

On the final day of Spirit Week, students from each grade had vibrant class dances and showcased their dazzling floats, concluding the week with unforgettable performances.

Sophomore Jonathan Bakhash said that despite numerous doubts, his class was able to pull through, noting that they were able to outperform juniors and freshmen in the class dance.

“It was the most spirit we’ve ever shown. Everyone thought we were going to lose; (even) my chemistry teacher said we were losing. But no, we won,” Bakhash said.

Bakhash also said attending dance practices and performing in the class dance was a new and memorable experience.

“I think that (the dances) really gave me an opportunity to connect with people around me in my grade,” Bakhash said.

Freshman Senator Paul Wang appreciated the camaraderie among his classmates through the various events in spirit week.

“My favorite part of Spirit Week was actually float building. I really liked the fact that we could have like 15 people collaborating on one big (project),” Wang said.

Wang also said he was looking forward to more events and was excited for the Spirit Week next year.

“We (freshmen) got a lot of experience this year and hope that we do way better next year,” Wang said.