Tug of war, energetic music, limbo and a routine by the varsity cheer and poms teams are just a few aspects of a CHS pep rally.
The first pep rally of the 2018-2019 school year took place Sept. 21. The pep rally was originally scheduled for Sept. 7 as a precursor to the reputable CHS versus Wootton HS football game. However, both the football game and the pep rally were rescheduled to later dates due to poor weather conditions.
The purpose of the pep rally was to increase spirit for the home football game against Walt Whitman HS. The pep rally was a huge success, as the football game saw its biggest crowd turnout in three years with over 600 students in attendance. The stands were fully packed at both the pep rally and the football game that night.
“This pep rally was the best one we have had at the school since I have been here,” junior Taylor Tran said. “It was a lot of fun to watch and was definitely the most people I have seen at a CHS pep rally.”
The pep rally also included an introduction of all fall sports teams and their captains, all of whom sat as a team in the stands. Letting players sit with their respective sports teams also increased team bonding and the overall spirit of each CHS sports team.
“I really liked how I got to sit with the rest of the volleyball team,” junior Haley Gye said. “They are some of my closest friends and sitting with them made the pep rally so much more fun.”
A big event at the pep rally took place when senior football captains, Michael Janis, Joe Raab, Nick Wagman, Jake Jacobs, Amir Kazemipour and Matthew Kalavritinos promised students that if the Whitman football game sold more than 600 student tickets, they would shave mohawks in their hair. As a result of the 632 student tickets sold, the captains received mohawks during lunch Sept. 26 in front of students who wanted to watch.
“It was cool to see how many students were there to see the football captains get mohawks,” sophomore Chloe Flack said. “I also liked how they had their jersey numbers shaved [onto their heads].”
The traditional homecoming pep rally, which takes place the Friday before homecoming, will include skits from each class, floats and a powderpuff football game the evening before.
“There is still room for improvements for pep rallies in terms of more interaction with the student body,” Ceramics teacher and poms coach Tiffany Carmi said. “However, there was definitely a lot more school spirit which I know is something the SGA, along with cheer and poms is working on.”