Spirit's Up at Garneau
From 23 March to 29 March, the Marc Garneau Student Activity Council (SAC) held its third Spirit Week of the school year. Over the course of Spirit Week, students were invited to dress up in accordance with unique daily themes and participate in various activities. Students also competed to earn house points, which teachers recorded by tallying up the number of participants for each house during first period.
As the week was cut short by the Easter holiday, the first day of Spirit Week, Pyjama Day, began on Friday the week before. On Friday morning, students and teachers came to school wearing their PJs. Pyjama Day was also used to encourage more people to be involved with SCAW Night, a sleepover event held by MGCI Key Club.
On Monday, Spirit Week continued with MGCI Apparel Day. Students were encouraged to wear school apparel and represent their clubs and teams. The following day was Twin Tuesday and many students came dressed in outfits identical to their friends’. SAC rewarded participants with candy on the second and third Spirit Days.Wednesday was House Colour Day, and students wore red, blue, yellow, or green to represent their respective houses and earn points.
The final theme for Spirit Week was Jersey Thursday. Students were invited to show off their jerseys in support of their favourite players and teams. With help from the Athletic Committee, SAC hosted a students vs. teachers basketball game during lunch. The bleachers were packed with students cheering as the game went back and forth. Finally, after a very intense game, the student team hit a buzzer beater, winning with a tight score of 19-18. The event was a thrilling end to Spirit Week and a great success.
SAC continuously advertised Spirit Week through social media updates, posters, and the morning announcements. Pictures of Spirit Week participants were taken and posted daily on various social media platforms to garner student interest. In addition, the posts informed students of Spirit Week themes as well as lunch time activities, such as musical chairs. Prizes and candy were also used to encourage more students to participate.
SAC Spirit Convenor Laksikaa Raja thought the basketball game was the greatest success of Spirit Week: “I have noticed that the use of sports is what really brings students together, so hopefully when the weather gets better we can have many more things planned to further encourage the engagement of students.” She also wishes for more creative Spirit Week themes, and is working with other SAC members to plan new activities and themes for future events. SAC President, Lisa Wang, was also satisfied with the overall student turnout. However, to improve future Spirit Weeks, she suggested “having activities accessible to more students around the school, and possibly targeting students with other interests” to engage even more students.
With only a few months left until the end of the school year, SAC anticipates that students will now be more motivated to get involved as it will be their last chance to help raise points for their houses. The students in the house with the most points at the end of the year will be entered into a raffle to win a prize.
