After a week of hilarious hats, pajamas, and iconic memes, it had come down to the most anticipated day of the week. Students dressed in red, green, blue, and purple could only mean one thing: rally day. But not just any rally. The first West High rally of the year. 

   The colorful students flooding into the gym, showing off their class pride amongst the exuberant atmosphere marked the start of the rally.

   With the new addition of the game “Finish the Lyrics,” the almighty Senior Class came out on top claiming 1st place, belting Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” at the top of their lungs. 

   Surprisingly, the Freshmen were tagging along not too far behind in 2nd. After their loss in the Beach Ball Relay Race, the comeback from the younger class effectively silenced the yearly chant of “Go Home, Freshmen!”

   Being new to the school, Sorina Yang (9) said, “As a freshman, it was a new and pretty cool experience. I thought that the singing challenge was funny, even if we didn’t get first place.”

   But what goes into preparing for one of these rallies? Mia Hasenmayer (12), the ASB Secretary who had planned the entirety of last week’s rally, said it isn’t as easy as it seems. “I had to think about so many factors: games people would or could participate in, making sure everyone in ASB knew what had to be done, making sure that everyone in the games knew what they were doing, etc.”

   Hasenmayer expressed how communication was a huge element of pulling off the high-spirited event. She had to ensure that each performing group knew when to perform and that there was someone to announce the Top 5 Homecoming Nominations. Needless to say, it was a lot of work. 

   Speaking of the Top 5, a huge congratulations goes to Ashley Cho (12), Kaitlyn Esperon (12), Kayla Mullin, (12), Savannah Starr (12), Kalai  Kiaanina (12), Jordan Yee (12), Kobe Vu (12), Uzair Pasta (12), Ryan Obayashi (12), and Uchenna Maduno (12)!

   As many of them embraced each other in celebration, the couples approached the five special seats, surrounded by the shrieking of an enthusiastic crowd.

   With Camilla Cabello’s “Havana” echoing in the background, the reaction from the students indicated a successful start to a year of rallies yet to come.

  From rally after rally, make sure to keep in mind all the work that goes into making it a fun event for students to unite together and show their West High pride. 

   As best said by Yang, “Rallies are a great and fun way to show school spirit and bring the high school community together. I look forward to all the future rallies and what they have in store!”