School Pride Runs Rampant at Second Pep Rally of Year

Prakrit Sinha, Reporter| October 5, 2022

  • Cheering, students wave and shout for the chance to be chosen to win a pizza. A pep rally tradition, students with the most school spirit on display at each pep rally are able to earn a free pizza.

    Phoebe Taber
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  • Dancing, Principal Erin Campbell performs with the SunDancers. In an unexpected surprise, faculty members joined the SunDancers to perform a choreographed routine.

    Phoebe Taber
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  • Blake Zhang ’24 sprints to the win during the race. Zhang won the race, finishing it in 9.8 seconds.

    Phoebe Taber
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  • Grinning, Ms. Brissa Ochoa displays five envelopes, one of which contained a $100 dollar bill.

    Phoebe Taber
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On Friday, Sept. 30, students attended the second pep rally of the year. While originally scheduled to occur on Sept. 23, the pep rally was postponed due to safety concerns. Despite this, between the teacher dance routine, student races, and the endless barrage of free pizza, student energy was high.

“[The] pep rally was great. The energy is always exhilarating and I feel a sense of camaraderie between all the people,” Petros Doroshin ‘23 said. “I think pep rallies are great for schools and really bring everyone together.

The pep rally began with students sharing the successes their respective sports have celebrated this school year. Afterward, crowds roared with excitement as the SunDancers took the stage. Their performance raised spirits, with screams and cheers reaching a whole new level once teachers embarked on the stage.

“I liked the energy and I thought it was fun for sure,” Avyay Gupta ‘24 said, “The performances were nice and I liked what the band was doing.”

To keep spirits up before the games began, cheerleaders distributed free pizzas to the loudest students in the bleachers. During the first game, four students were selected from the bleachers and asked to pick from five envelopes, one of which contained $100. None of the students were able to win the prize money, with all winning a monopoly dollar bill instead.

“It was a lot of fun actually,” Will Murray ‘23 said. “I thought it was one of our best pep rallies because of all the original ideas they put in there.”

Next came a student race to find the fastest student at Westwood. Three students were recommended by the Track and Cross Country coaches while two were randomly picked from the crowd.

“The race was funny and I liked it. It was a little friendly competition with a twist at the end,” Murray said.

Xavier Ashford ‘23 ran first, setting a record with 11.2 seconds. None of the other participants were able to beat him until the very end, when one of the randomly picked students, Blake Zhang ‘24, ran the race in 9.8 seconds, winning the race.

“I’m very happy all this work finally paid off. I’m working on refining my running technique,” Zhang said.

With that, the pep rally concluded with the Westwood anthem. The next pep rally will be on Friday, Oct. 7.