On Friday March 8, 2019 West High School hosted its annual spring rally to celebrate the beginning of its spring sports competition season. This year the theme was Glow-In-The-Dark and it was dubbed the Glow Rally. Each class wore their respective colors; the seniors were dressed in purple and white, the juniors in neon pink, the sophomores in green, and the freshmen in blue.

  Shrutika Ezhil (9), shared her thoughts after experiencing her first glow rally at West High. She stated, “My favorite part was how all of the classes wore their colors and they all participated. It was very exciting to see everyone dressed up. I wasn’t bored at all.”

  The rally was hosted by Umayangi Wijetunge (12) in the Gym which was decorated with colorful lights, posters, and balloons. It included a variety of activities such as competitive games between the classes, performances by the talented Fine Arts department, and an introduction of all of the 2019 spring sports teams.

  The winter sports teams were introduced first. They walked into the gym and under the arc made by the cheerleaders’ pom poms wearing their uniforms. These included wrestling, water polo, and soccer. Next came the spring sports teams. These included baseball, track, volleyball, and tennis.

  After the introduction of all of the sports teams, Color Guard performed their routine with bright neon orange flags as Band performed the song “Handclap.”

  After the exciting performance, a game of dodgeball commenced. For the preliminary round, the seniors won against the freshman and the juniors won against the sophomores. After a final round between the seniors and the juniors, the seniors were victorious.  

  This was followed by another dance performance, this time with the Hip-Hop and Drill team. Following the glow-in-the-dark look, they used a variety of glow tape and costuming to create a ‘Powderpuff Girl’ themed routine.

  Next after this performance was another game that involved two people who had to wrestle and pull a sock off of the other’s foot. The juniors won against the freshman and the sophomores won against the seniors. In the final battle, the juniors were able to win against the sophomores. As soon as the match ended, a large group of juniors rose up out of their seats, rushed onto the floor, and jumped around in a big group hug to celebrate.

  Angelin Simon (11) commented her thoughts on the quality of this rally compared to others, she stated, “It was significantly better than the other rallies for sure! I liked the concept of the glow rally. Plus the performances and games were skillfully executed.”

  Keeping tradition, the rally concluded with all of the students standing, arms linked together as they recited the Alma Mater. Future rallies to look forward to include the Prom and Senior Rally.