Spirit Week at Washington High School aims to provide students with a sense of identity and community. This is especially true for the brand-new freshman class of 2023. Presenting the class’s first-ever skit, based on Finding Nemo, the freshmen’s Husky spirit made a lasting impression. In the days leading up to Spirit Week, Class President Tyler Cho had high hopes, expecting to see the class fully involved and showing a lot of Washington spirit. He was not let down.Even in the face of the seniors’ deafening whistles on Monday, the freshmen were never once deterred, sporting their fuzzy nightcaps, onesies, and pinstriped pajamas with confidence and pride. Filled with insane competition on Tuesday, the freshman rocked sports day. They dressed in athletic gear resembling those in major leagues, and acted as superstars.
The Washington campus on Wednesday was decorated with streamers and balloons in the halls from the night before. Freshman Floris Schoordijk, who acted as Nemo’s father in the skit, says it was “all of student council” who put in effort to paint backdrops and hang decorations around school. As Cho had previously mentioned, Spirit Week requires a substantial amount of time and training. As a result, the leadership class was consistently involved with preparations since the beginning of August 2019. He admitted that the most testing element of arranging the week was communication between leadership members— something they will strive to improve on in the future. In upcoming years, the class of 2023 will be much more familiar with time restraints and endless preparation they face. When the time came, the freshmen gave every bit of spirit they had left for the skit. With their immense levels of energy and enthusiasm, the class of 2023 helped increase the school’s morale. Cho says “The amount of people we got involved was the best part of the skit.” Their energetic and lighthearted rendition of Finding Nemo was definitely the highlight of Wednesday. “It’s been super hectic, but I’m enjoying it so far.” Thursday was Hawaiian day; nearly everyone in the freshman class donned Hawaiian shirts and flower leis or even their makeshift tie-dyed shirts. Dedicated to bringing more spirit, Schoordijk searched nearly two hours to find a floral print shirt. The ripped off flower petals from their leis will be spotted on campus for many weeks to come (so much for saving the VSCO themed turtles on their backdrops).
Friday finally brought the classes together. Wearing orange and black, Husky pride could be seen and heard for miles. The teacher skit was overflowing with an audience of students; many of the freshmen joined in the dancing.
Even though they have finished their first spirit week this year with a bit of a sleepy demeanor, the freshmen are evidently ready for their next adventure. We will definitely need to keep an eye on the class of 2023 next year.
Emma Warren is a senior at Washington High School. This is their second and final year at the Hatchet. They serve as the web developer and the Arts & Entertainment editor. Emma loves working on the Hatchet and writing stories for all kinds of people, whether it be the fall play review or a portfolio of an artist. In her free time, they enjoy writing and indulging in the simplicity of life by watching The Office.