My eyes scan the chattering crowd as students head to the gym. Upon entering, the place is decorated with blue and gold – our school colors – and the sounds of laughter and yelling almost blend together into a mess of noise. Today is Friday, Aug. 25. Some people are confused about why we are here, I am not. SCHS is hosting its first indoor Welcome Rally since 2019. I explain this to my friends, and then we climb up the steps together and sit between the tightly packed bodies on the bleachers, waiting for the rally to begin.
During distance learning, SCHS created a virtual welcome rally. However, according to Sharon Freeman, Vice Principal of Activities, both enticing students to participate and providing a lively environment for them to enjoy was a difficult task.
When SCHS returned back in-person in 2021, bringing back the rally would have only caused more difficulties due to health and safety regulations.
“The idea of having that many people in a small enclosed space was problematic at that point,” Freeman said. “So we would rather wait, than do it then.”
Recently, with the decline of COVID cases, SCHS decided this would be the year to bring back the Welcome Rally.
Senior Miranda Gutierrez and junior Joann Smith were the MCs, and they kicked off the rally off by introducing some of the current teachers, counselors and clubs at SCHS. After, they introduced athletic director Nelson Gifford, and then began a game that is entirely new to SCHS: human-sized Hungry Hungry Hippos. This was to introduce the fall sports by having members of different sports compete with one another for a free homecoming ticket.
To finish up the rally, the MCs introduced the last game – one that is also new to SCHS – which involved the different grade levels competing against one another to rush up to the mic and finish song lyrics.
Smith had high hopes for what this rally would mean to SCHS. Along with engaging all students into a community, she in particular, was hoping students would leave with a positive takeaway of school in mind.
“I just want everyone to have a good high school experience and not see SCHS as some terrible boring school,” Smith said. “I have had my fair share of bad school experiences, but I want (everyone), the freshman especially, to have a good time.”
The Welcome Rally provided freshman Ananya Das and her peers an opportunity to discover the depths of Smith’s message. The rally has helped them learn more about the SCHS community as a whole.
“Many of my friends and people I know were extremely nervous to start high school, to make new friends, and to even talk openly in their classes,” Das said. “I think the rally demonstrated that all grades are welcoming and there are countless opportunities for people to build connections.”
Thanks to all the activities, and the work of supporting students and staff, sophomore Ellie Arai found this rally to be a memorable moment.
“I thought that the Welcome Rally was pretty cool, and I could tell that all of the cheerleaders, dancers, musicians and ASB members worked hard to make it a fun experience for everyone,” Arai said.
According to Freeman the Welcome Rally came back on a high note. Thus, she has plans for the rally to take place every year and believes it is important for events like this to happen throughout the school year.
“Having a place on campus is really important,” Freeman said. “Through this rally and through all of these other (interactive) events, we want to make sure that people feel like they have a place that they can connect to.”