SThe half empty bleachers were full of a silent student section. Suddenly, lights turn on and the game begins.  Spectators sitting in the crowd seem dead and those just entering are lazily shuffling in.. This used to be the typical friday night football game the past few years, but this year at CHS, games are beginning to look quite different.

An increase in school pride has swept through the halls of CHS. From pep rallies to cookouts to football games, it is evident that both the student turnout and school enthusiasm have increased.

“School spirit has definitely gone up,” senior and SGA president Precious Melchizedek said. “With the recent pep rally, we had an unbelievable turnout which led to an amazing turnout at the cookout and football game. We have been seeing plenty of kids coming to the events and getting more involved.”

SGA and staff have made it their common mission is to improve school spirit. In order to achieve this, multiple groups have worked in tandem including the SGA, the Booster Club and Athletic Director Jesse Smith.

“Increased school spirit makes our school a better place from athletics to academics. When students are proud and excited to come to school it rubs off on everyone,” Smith said. “ From teachers to administrators to support staff, everyone is happier to come to school when students are excited to be here. At the end of the day school spirit and pride just makes high school a better and memorable experience for everyone involved.”

This year appears to be different from years past. The CHS community will be testing new activities and events in hopes to try to raise spirit.

“We are trying to change things up this year,” Principal Joan Benz said. “For SOS [Sources of Strength] day we might try to do a color wars activity in order to make everything very interactive. We are doing the same thing for the staff as well; we had activities for the staff before school started just to build everybody’s spirit.”

Additionally, improvements have been made to the school and sports equipment this year. here are more plans in the making for other changes this coming year, which will hopefully  help add to CHS pride and build a stronger community.

“The very first thing we have done is updated our school logo to something that belongs only to CHS. Then we’ve started to improve the facilities, and finally the athletic department has teamed up with Boosters and SGA to help identify things that will get our students out to athletic events and proud of our school.,” Smith said. “ We’ll continue to make improvements to the athletic facilities, and with the help of administration there will be change coming throughout the school. We’ll also continue to hold more secondary events at games such as cookouts and giveaways. There are plans for more pep rallies and other events.”

The Booster Club has donated large amounts of money and equipment in order to make advancements in the school athletics department and CHS in general.

According to Smith, the booster club has provided spirit buses to games, created parent committees to work with SGA and also provided new and (sometimes) free clothing, along with thousands of dollars toward facility and equipment improvements.

The SGA and staff have decided to focus on school spirit because of the ability it has to unify CHS. School spirit can be a foundation for creating a school community.

“I believe sports have a unique ability to unite communities like nothing else,” Smith said. “If our athletes are proud of their sport and also are supporting the other teams, then that spirit starts to spread throughout the school. If you look at schools like Damascus, Quince Orchard, or Northwest, they all have athletes who take great pride in their sport and the athletics program, creating an amazing environment.”

In addition, letting loose at school events just might help students relieve some stress. School spirit and activities give students a way stabilize their busy schedules.

“I think students need ways to get rid of some anxiety and stress from working so hard,” Benz said. “The social and emotional balance aside from all the things students participate do is very important.”

The SGA believes that raising school spirit this year will help with spirit in the years to come and provide a more welcoming community for new students and freshmen.

“We want to start building [spirit] for the coming classes so that when they come to school they enter a place of community and unity,” Melchizedek said.

Not only does school spirit bring CHS together as a community, but also it can help improve team performance.

“Athletes love to have people watching them and cheering them on,” Smith said. “It gives them an energy that they won’t get from an empty stadium. At [the Wootton game], there was no doubt in my mind that our football players weren’t energized by our large and loud crowd. They loved every bit of it!”

In order for school spirit to be improved, students need to be involved with school sponsored events. Students can also voice their opinions or concerns to the SGA, allowing the student body to have direct involvement with school spirit events.

“There are many ways people can get in contact with their class officers or their class executive boards,” Melchizedek said. “There are also many events coming up that students can get involved in and these events will soon be posted and information will be given to the student body.”

Ultimately, the amount of school spirit lies on the student body. It is up to students to create a spirited community for CHS in the present, and for new students in the future.

“At the end of the day, it’s the students that will make this school as great as it should be,” Smith said. “Having students show their pride in the school is extremely important. We need students participating in events such as the spirit friday’s, pep rallies and games. We need them embracing the fun and getting others involved.”