Niles North tries to make school more exciting by setting up spirit weeks and assemblies, but students’ enthusiasm gradually declines as themes and events don’t fully hit the mark with students. The most recent Winter Pep assembly felt like any other assembly, which killed the mood for a majority of the students as repetition can get unamusing. 

The spirit week that led up to the assembly was dull because the spirit day themes were hard to follow, and quite frankly, boring.  “Teacher vs. student” was unclear and “acknowledge a college” was quite plain and uninteresting. Themes like  “white out” and “comfy day” were easier to follow, so more students participated and enjoyed them. Some students suggested ideas such as dressing up as a celebrity or idol, anything but a backpack day, jersey day, and babies vs. old people.

The assembly was entertaining, not only because students love any excuse to get out of class, but also because there was a moment where everyone took out their flashlights or glow rings they had gotten earlier that day and swayed them along to the music. This was a nice change to the assembly as the whole school was able to participate and wasn’t a part of previous assemblies. Besides that, the events were pretty much the same as any other, with the sports teams and teachers participating in some type of minigame. It’s neat to see the performances by Auroris, cheer, Vikettes, and the band since they work hard to put on an impressive show for the whole school. 

Students collectively agreed that we should be included in the games. Students who wish to participate could raise their hands, and a teacher could select a few from each grade level. They also want to see more focus on students who participate in non-sports-related activities, like how the winners of the Dance Marathon V-show were displayed on the screen. Those in charge of planning the assemblies could send a survey to students with a suggestion box of what kind of activities they’d like to see/participate in.

“It should be more engaging, we shouldn’t just be sitting down the whole time,” said junior Taven Goggins. “Something where the students are on the gym floor. Almost how homecoming was, but without the mosh pit. They could go grade by grade.” 

A collective favorite event would have to be the class chant. Possibly one of the most looked forward to activities, students are left disappointed when the winners are announced as they are the same every year. Even though it’s understood that the seniors will win no matter what, as it’s their last year, students leave the gym with hard feelings. 

Overall, the school does a good job at planning these events but with the help of students’ opinions and suggestions they could be made even better. Breaks from school like this give the students something to look forward to while learning, so a huge thanks to the event organizers!