What do Marvel, Teen Beach, and Adam Sandler all have in common? From Monday, Sept. 19 to Friday, Sept. 23, West High held its first spirit week of the year! West implements new and fun ideas to bring more school spirit and involvement to its campus. Each weekday had a different theme that students were challenged to partake in. 

   Most spirit week days motivated students — and even Principal Mrs. Murata — to dress up in out of the ordinary outfits, or bring something to school they wouldn’t normally bring. Ethan Pranada (11) participated in Teen Beach Tuesday, a day where students wore beach clothes based on the Disney Channel original Teen Beach Movie. Pranada wore a teal Hawiian shirt with black shorts. He also joined in on Sidekick Wednesday, where students brought stuffed animal “sidekicks” to class. Pranada brought Larry, his favorite stuffed lemur. Pranada planned to partake in all of the spirit days, as he said it “makes school more fun and enjoyable” while giving “the highschool experience more action and entertainment.” He encouraged all students to play a part in spirit week, as it can help everyone become more involved with the school.

   Students also participated in the challenges as a way to bond with their classmates. Junior ASB President Micah Taw (11) stated that his favorite part of the school spirit experience was taking pictures of him and his friends throughout the week. Taw’s favorite choice was Teen Beach Tuesday, as he got to take numerous pictures of himself and his friends dressed up in fashionable Hawaiian gear. But Taw doesn’t just participate in the dress-up. Being a part of ASB means that he also partakes in  making decisions on the themes and dates of spirit week. Taw explained that the most common method ASB has for creating  spirit days is to “make alliterations so they sound cooler.” This would include themes such as last week’s Marvel Monday and Teen Beach Tuesday. He shared that the main motive behind choosing the themes for each day is “try[ing] to think of cool ideas that the entire school would enjoy doing.” 

   ASB Member Gracie Ito (11), described the process of deciding topics for spirit week as “throwing ideas around until we all vote on which ones we like the most.” Ito said that planning topics takes a while since there are many people on ASB with many different ideas. Ito shared some for spirit week that ideas that didn’t make the final cut. She mentioned Jersey Day, Hollywood Thursday, Midwest Monday, and Disco Day.  Once the final ideas are solidified, members send their ideas to the ASB board for approval. 

   Spirit week is a fun event for participants and creators alike. The week encourages school spirit and camaraderie between students and gives a positive school legacy to remember.