By Krystal Torres ’25
One of the weeks that DHS students look forward to the most is Spirit Week. DHS wrapped up another spirit week and Homecoming pep rally on Oct. 23-27. The five themes for spirit week were surfers vs. bikers, identity theft, Barbie vs. Ken, anything but a backpack, and color wars.
As usual, about 85 percent of upperclassman participated in spirit week while only 30 percent of freshman participated. Freshman do not usually go all out when dressing up since they are still getting used to the change from middle school to high school and all the different events we have, but eventually they warmed up to the idea this year and gradually showed more spirit as time passed. For example, typically a very small amount of freshmen actually wear their class color and they are usually kind of confused during pep rallies, but this year the freshmen came in second place for the pep rally competitions, beating sophomores and juniors.
The surfers vs. bikers theme was inspired by the movie Teen Beach Movie, where two surfers travel back in time and find themselves in the exact same place; the only difference is they were in the 50’s and everyone on the beach were surfers. Students who dressed up as surfers wore colorful flower leis, sunglasses, shirts that had flowers, or anything representing the beach. Students who dressed up as bikers wore bandanas, leather jackets, boots, chains, etc.
The identity theft theme was when students dressed up as another person. Some students choose to dress as other teachers, Assistant principal Ray Coplin, cartoon characters, and much more. Liana Dickinson 25’ says her favorite day was “Identity theft! I liked identify theft because it was cool seeing people try to be somebody else. ”
With the new Barbie movie out this year, many were happy and excited about it. This was a big topic for a while so the student council decided to make a spirit day dedicated to it. This was when students dressed up either as a Barbie or a Ken. However, everyone had a different approach to this. Some students took it literally and dressed up as one of the different Barbies or Kens from the movie, while others just dressed up in the Barbie aesthetic. Skirts, rhinestones, every and all shades of pink, and flashy jewelry are just some of the items worn by students and staff.
Anything but a backpack day is when students bring anything that can carry their school supplies and materials as long as it’s not a backpack. For this day, some students did simple things like bringing a small basket, a picnic bag, a hamper, a mini refrigerator and much more. However, some students went to extremes and brought a canoe, shopping carts, a large box, a trash can etc. Some extravagant items that really shocked students from previous years for this same day were things such as an shopping cart from Shoprite that was decorated with flashing lights and music, a washing machine, the canoe from this school year, and a large T.V box that had strings attached to it so the student could wear it as a backpack. Savannah Harold 25’ says her favorite day is anything but a backpack because “everyone goes all out for it. ”
DHS students get really excited for color wars, too. Color wars are when each class dresses in their class color (freshmen in gray, sophomores in black, juniors in white, and seniors in red). The two classes that always put in the most effort are the juniors and seniors. This year the juniors and seniors made their own flags for color wars, hung up posters, and provided different props for the pep rally. Everyone usually puts body paint on, glitter on their face, wear wigs, buy masks, dyes their hair, etc.
For color wars, we always have a pep rally or staff vs. student events. These pep rallies are full of fun games, challenges, performances, etc. During the pep rally each student section is loud and joyful. Students are always cheering on their classmates, stomping, and clapping. Students get so loud that the bleachers start to shake and tremble.
All of this and more in the name of school spirit for Color Wars. Spirit week is always a blast for all DHS students.
The Raider Press 