By Nedaat Masiat ’26
On Oct. 11, Derby High School students and faculty gathered in the gymnasium for the annual homecoming pep rally to end spirit week and kick off the weekend festivities. The pep rally was class wars themed; the freshmen wore grey, sophomores wore black, juniors wore white, and seniors wore red to represent their grades.
Students participated in various games and competitions, fostering camaraderie and excitement for the upcoming homecoming football game against Seymour. The featured activities include a musical chairs-style scavenger hunt, tug of war, relay race, dizzy tic tac toe, and head and shoulders–all of the fan favorites.
Each of the games had a point system, and the sophomores ended up winning the pep rally overall. When asked what he was expecting from the pep rally, Isaac McNeill ‘26 answered, “I expected there to be a very hard fight between the juniors and the seniors, but it was really a battle between the sophomores and the seniors, which I didn’t like.” Emma Hyder ‘25 also added, “Based off of their dominance as freshmen, I expected them to come back stronger, but I didn’t expect them to beat the seniors!”
The student council, led by DHS Social Studies Teacher, Spencer Butterworth, and Instructional Coach, Rebecca Bell, had been working hard preparing for the event and it all came together beautifully. The rally concluded with the announcement of the homecoming court nominees, who expressed their gratitude and enthusiasm for being recognized.
When asked if there was anything different she would like to see at future pep rallies, Ashlyn Kish ‘27 responded, “I would like to see different games because I feel like we use the same ones at each pep rally. Something that involves everyone like ‘Guess that Song,’ for example, could be more thrilling.”
The Raider Press 