It’s almost February and with midterms finished, we start a new semester here at University High School. However, it’s always a good idea to look back to updates of the past year, especially with the reception of UHSSE’s Spirit Week and pep rally.

For those who remember, the UHSSE winter break was preceded by Spirit Week which ended in the big Amazing Race and pep rally, a tradition we haven’t been able to continue due to the obvious COVID-19 complications. Now moving to a more regular school experience, we were to once again bring about a classic UHSSE day of fun.

Spirit Week was a new addition to the formula where each day was a new theme for dress down. Starting on Monday, Dec. 19 to Friday, Dec. 23, we have: Hero Day where students dress as their favorite hero from movies, shows, or real life; Ugly Sweater Contest where everyone was invited to participate; Sports Day where you would show off your jerseys and gear for your favorite team or your team if you are in one; Hawk Day where you dress to show off school pride; and Class Colors where everyone was to be dressed in colors to represent their class with 9th grade had blue, 10th grade had white, 11th grade had red, and 12th grade had black.

The last day was also the Amazing Race and was intended to be a dress-down day, however, that was never seen to fruition.

Speaking of the Amazing Race and pep rally, we asked students what they thought about the revitalized tradition and any feedback they had.

Tsyonne McPherson ‘23 said she “thought it was really fun and had a good time.”

This was the second pep rally seniors had ever been to since freshman year and left a good impression on some.

We also spoke to Chijioke Egbujo ’26, to get his thoughts about the first Amazing Race and pep rally from a new student. Egbujo said he had “a really good time” and hoped this would continue to be a tradition.

However, there was some feedback on how the event could be improved.

Pacey Mahar ‘23 said that while he enjoyed the event to an extent, “it was kind of boring,” and would have wanted to have a bit more bang.

When talking with Egbujo, Maanit Malhan ‘23 chimed in and added that “attendance was a bit low.”

This is true, partially due to the unfortunate weather circumstances that left many buses unable to reach the school.

All in all, we hoped that many were able to enjoy the event regardless and that everyone had a relaxing winter break and studied hard for the midterms. Do you have any feedback or positive thoughts to give on the Amazing Race? Let us know.