On Dec. 8, the Winter Pep Assembly will highlight student athletic and extracurricular accomplishments and foster a shared sentiment of unity among the school community as the semester draws to a close.
As the winter sports season reaches its peak, senior athletes will be recognized for the commitment and dedication they have invested in their respective sports, many of whom have maintained involvement all four years of their high school career. Afterward, a portion of the assembly will be used to acknowledge the fall sports teams that excelled during their season. A comprehensive list outlining the senior athletes who will be featured during the assembly can be found below:
Cheerleading (Hoss) – Amarina Amar
Boys Bowling (Lainez) – Corban Hood-Webb, Brayden Tratt, Marvin Yelda
Girls Basketball (Russell) – Briana Bolt, Samiya Khan, Ava Le
Boys Basketball (Olson) – Aidan Ashley, Filip Guzina, Jaiden Medina, John Nueva, Angel Moore-Ascencio
Girls Gymnastics (Chung-Swanson) – Joy Warburton, Alina Ramirez, Choko Rivera, Teo Dalangin, Giselle Slagg
Wrestling (Lindberg) – Trent Tono, Dionisi Ballas, Ahmed Musa, Julian Owen
Girls Bowling (Lee) – Grace Michaels and Litzy Cano
Boys Swim and Dive (Orlove) – Ryan Nguyen and Jonathan Avram
Entertainment will once again be an integral part of the program as the cheerleaders, Auroris, and Vikettes take the stage to perform carefully choreographed routines. In-season winter sports teams will also collaborate to organize games and introductions, including a handstand competition between featured staff members.
In terms of musical production, after being declared the winners of the Nov. 10 Dance Marathon Variety Show, pianist Micah Chan will submit a recorded performance and acoustic guitar/singer duo of brothers Eduardo Garcia and Israel Sotelo will perform live for another chance to delight the audience with their melodic abilities.
Logistically speaking, there have been some new aspects added to this year’s assembly that audience members can expect to experience. On one hand, glow merchandise will be handed out to attendees to encourage audience members to perform synchronized movements that will illuminate the gymnasium.
Student Activities Director Jody Trapani is most looking forward to the introduction of winter-themed lighting, which she believes will add a special flair to the event that was not seen in previous years.
“We are bringing in some pretty heavy lighting to support the overall experience of the performances and the winter theme,” Trapani said. “We’re excited to see how this makes it more fun for students. This pep assembly is a time for the whole school community to come together to experience something fun and have a joyful experience where we’re celebrating each other’s accomplishments. So I’m hoping that the winter spirit and lighting will really help make that experience feel new and exciting.”
Throughout the event, an organized slideshow will be continually running to showcase the accomplishments of distinguished student clubs and organizations. In an effort to improve the quality of this year’s Winter Pep Assembly, Head Assembly Planner and Special Education teacher Elizabeth Shay has ensured that a more diverse range of individuals have the opportunity to participate or receive recognition, which starts with the inclusion of administrators. There will also be a greater emphasis on highlighting smaller clubs that may not otherwise receive as much recognition.
“We’re really trying to get more student and staff involvement,” Shay said. “You’ll see admin being involved in this assembly, which is something that’s different from the past. You’ll notice that we’re trying to be really inclusive with our shoutouts, which will be the slideshow that you’ll see running throughout the whole assembly so that we can highlight big things and little things that are happening in all the different areas of our school.”
In continuation with the Spirit Week dress themes, students and staff are invited to wear all white on Dec. 8 when attending the assembly. In the meantime, audience members can expect to be treated to an engaging afternoon of unity and community involvement.
