The familiar heightened anticipation caused by the beatings of drums and the ruffles of pom-poms as students prepared to scream until their voices broke filled the field house gym during the first pep rally of the school year on Friday, Sept. 2. It began with a performance by the Westwood Band, welcoming students to the pep rally as they walked in. The performance was directed by the band’s Head Drum Major, Ciera Kelley ‘23.

“It was so fun getting to see so much of the school cheering and getting excited about the upcoming game,” Kelley said. “Getting to hear the band play so loudly in the gym was so so cool as well.”

The cheer team followed the band’s performance with an enthusiastic routine which raised everyone out of their morning stupors and on their feet.

Before the many clubs of Westwood were introduced, 11 students were invited down to the dance floor to show their moves as they played a round of musical chairs. Encouraging cheers filled the stands and a sense of sportsmanship emanated from the players. From the 11 players, Brian Gaede ‘24 came out triumphant, rewarded with free pizza.

“The competition really made the pep rally,” Gaede said. “Let me tell you, that was the best pizza I’ve ever had.”

Coming off a season of wins, the Girls Volleyball Team started the sports introductions. This was soon followed by the Varsity Tennis Team and the debate team, both with many accomplishments under their belts. Soon after, Westwood’s football team was welcomed onto the stage. They remain undefeated this season.

Afterward, the Westwood SunDancers took the stage, and exclamations about the intricacies of the choreography were heard from all over the crowd.

Carrying the spirit forward, the Westwood Garage Band blew away the audience with their spectacular performance of Hard Times by Paramore. Students from both of Westwood’s dance teams, the cheer team, and many members of Westwood Band ran toward the center of the gym to cheer on the garage band.

“At first it was quite stressful knowing that everyone at the pep rally would see us perform for the first time this year, but as we started playing we all just had fun performing and enjoyed every minute of it,” Luc Rozak ‘23 said.

To close the pep rally, Ms. Campbell led students through the Westwood alma mater. As the words escaped the students’ mouths, the music echoed across the gym.The students showed a lot of enthusiasm and exuded more and more school spirit as the pep rally unfolded. The next pep rally will take place on Friday, Sept. 16 in the field house gym.