On Friday, the gym was colorfully decorated with balloons, streamers, and banners colored in an assortment of purples, blues, greens, and reds. Over two thousand spirited students stood in the gym cheering loudly, evoking a lively atmosphere in the presence of the West High Gym.
The rally was fully packed with entertaining performances from various talented groups. Amongst the performers were First Place Solo Talent Show winner Xia Rashid (11), who sang Adele’s hit song Rolling in the Deep, accompanied by Kaleb Davies (9) on the guitar. Rashid late stated, “I’m overwhelmed that I was given the chance to perform in front of the entire school; It gave me such a rush and I loved every minute of it!” The captivating act, which evoked grand applause from the crowd, was followed by the First Place Group and Sweepstakes winner, band Phoenic Disasters, compromised of Arianna Evans (12), Alissa Clark (11), and Arizton Pamploma (11). Clark stated, after the rally, “It felt good to perform in front of everyone and show the school what we are about as a group and what we are capable of doing.”
After the performances, it was time for the highlight of the rally: a dance battle between the four classes. Each class danced to their fullest, incorporating various stunts in their routines. Overall, the dance battle was entertaining, enjoyable, and humorous, with Mrs. Burt and Mr. Reyes proudly showing off a few of their dance moves in the routines. In the turnout of it all, the seniors claimed First Place, sophomores trailed with Second Place, followed by juniors with Third Place, and lastly the freshmen fell in Last Place. The upcoming Sadie Hawkins’ dance prompted Senior Class President Peter Zhang (12) to deliver a brief speech on ‘How Not To Get Asked To Sadies’, a comical and original segment of the amusing rally. Zhang later commented, “It was a great rally. Everyone was so spirited and lively. Hopefully my short a speech prompted people to go out and purchase their Sadies’ tickets while they can!” Mr. Evans, also engaged in a humorous skit for ‘Buy A Teacher at West High’, a auction event in which students can literally purchase a teacher to take out for a lunch and chat session.
The rally finally came to close and students assemble for the Alma Mater. Arms clasped strongly in one tie, the student body served to highlight the importance of school spirit, concordance, and unity.