On Friday, February 23, All-school Presidents Anji Ashaye ’24 and Jacquo Pierre ’24 hosted the inaugural winter pep rally in Walker Auditorium, marking the culmination of the Winter athletic season. 

Ashaye and Pierre opened the Fun Friday All-School with a hypevideo edited by Communications Officer Isamar Martinez ’24, created to elevate school spirit during the final week of the winter athletic season. The video featured highlights from various sports teams, arts groups, and other student organizations.

Following the video, members of the Girls Varsity Basketball team danced to a mashup of popular hits, including “Pink Friday Girls” by Nicki Minaj. Sofia Clark ’27 said, “I think the dance really encouraged unity and pride within the team and school.”

Girls Junior Varsity Basketball performed a dance choreographed by Armani Frazier ’24 and Julianna Piccone ’24. They introduced the dance with a video that showcased the team’s 12-0 undefeated season that included interviews from students and faculty. 

Next, Olympians & Pythians held an “elephant bowling” competition, where students were tasked with knocking down plastic cups using a pair of weighted pantyhose attached to their heads. Nikki Ferraro ’26 and Brennan Cail ’24, members of the Girls and Boys Varsity Hockey teams, respectively, won.

The event concluded with students passing beach balls across the audience and searching for golden tickets underneath their seats that contained gift cards to local restaurants. Winners of these prizes included Preston Merrick ’26, Charlie O’Connell ’27, and Sydney Berger ’25.

Ms. Lisa Brown, chief of staff to the head of school, said “I thought the rally was really well received by the student body.” When asked if the pep rally lifted the morale and energy of the community, Ms. Brown replied, “Yes, absolutely, and beyond.”

Ashaye said, “Jacquo and I felt that it’s important to raise school spirit throughout the year, not just during our fall Spirit Week. In fact, many teams planned to face our rival Taft that weekend, so school spirit was more important than ever! We also wanted to celebrate the student body’s achievements beyond sports this winter—in arts, robotics, and more. Therefore, we were so excited to organize the winter pep rally, and we’re glad that the community had fun!”

Ashaye and Pierre plan to build on the success and organize a similar event during an All-School meeting near the end of the year to celebrate Spring athletic teams and students’ accomplishments in their co-curriculars.