BEACH
DAY
Pick a nice sunny warm day in May and exercise the rites of spring. Try to
dismiss for an hour and a half over the lunch period and run fun activities on
a very casual "do them if you want basis.'' Water activities like banana
slides (a long strip of clear plastic 2 meters wide, wet it down and slide as
far as you can on your belly), dunk tanks, water balloon launching
competitions, Frisbees, etc. are good spirit builders. A big barbecue and a
student band or two to entertain for the time period will improve the mood.
Have a carnival wagon come in and sell candy floss, candy apples and other
carnival type of treats. It's a great way to end the school year in a relaxing
fun way.
HUMAN
BOWLING
Clear the centre aisle of the cafeteria and put gymnastic runway mats about two
meters wide down the center aisle (15 to 20 meters). Cover the mats with clear
plastic sheets and water down the runway. Some students want to use vegetable
oil, but water works fine and makes clean-up easy on a tile floor. You can add
some dish detergent to add some speed.
Use water jugs turned upside down and arranged like bowling pins. Preselected
individuals, dressed appropriately, run, dive and slide head first a (with a
hockey helmet for protection) into the pins. Arms have to be kept straight
back for scores to count.
PEP
RALLIES PLUS VIDEO
To make your assemblies more interesting go to the MTV mode. Prepare video
presentations of candid shots of students, or tape school activites such as
sports events or assemblies and show them to the whole student body. These
videos can be accompanied by music and the students will enjoy seeing
themselves and other students doing things around the school. This allows you
to have some control of what happens during a pep rally and the excitement
generated can be positive for the presenters as well as the audience. These
videos can be used to introduce your new students to the great activities run
at your school.
A
SPIRIT
MOBILE
Look for someone to donate a small car. The car does not have to run, as this
will eliminate the temptation to run certain high liability events. Here are
four very successful low risk events:
Painting the Car
Make it a weekend endeavour and and excellent
opportunity to draw council members together. Paint it in school colours and
name it after your mascot.
The Squeeze
If the car is small enough, you may be able to get it
into your school. The challenge of getting as many students as possible in the
car in the middle of your cafeteria or gym is great. Take the windshield out to
reduce the chance of injuries. This event favours smaller, younger students.
The Push
Have staff and student teams of four push the spirit
Mobile in a sixty metre sprint. Videotape this and display the races at a later
date. This event is well received by larger students especially competing
against staff.
The Smash
You are now finished with the car and offer a chance for
a smash for $0.50 or 3/$1.00 . This charity event ruins the car, but you can
get another one in a few years and host the same events.
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SPIRIT
PHRASE
DAY
At start of the school day, announce the Spirit Phrase for the day, i.e.
"Stomp the Barons''. Let the school know that a certain number of staff and
students have been selected to be "key'' phrase people and that these people
have some type of coupon which they are able to give away to the person who
says the phrase to them. To make it less obvious who the "key" people are, they
may only give coupons after a predetermined number of people have said the
phrase to them. This is a powerful variation on advertising by word of mouth.
The idea is to get all
students saying the phrase to each other
between classes, at lunch or etc. to develop greater student enthusiasm and
involvement for the game or event.
Another variation
Have a phrase of about 15 words in length that publicizes an event or athletic
activity. Let each homeroom know one word of the phrase. Students must talk to
other students from all grade levels to discover the other words of the phrase
and then unscramble the spirit phrase. Prizes are awarded to the students who
unscramble the phrase first.
A-GRAMS
An A-GRAM is similar to a telegram, but not so cryptic. A card is designed
around the theme of the gram, usually a special time of the year or activity.
Some examples are: Candycane-gram, Heart-A-Gram, Bunny-gram. In most cases, a
special treat is attached to the gram for the receiver such as a candycane,
rose, carnation, candy kisses, etc. The grams are sold in advance of the
special day with the sender writing a special message in the card and then
these are all delivered during homeform on the special day. These grams give
both students and staff a way to say a special thank-you to other people in the
school or just send an anonymous message to that special someone.
ARTSWEEK
This is an event to show off the best of what the school has to offer from art,
music, and drama. Your arts groups can put together a week of quality, fun and
laughs. Consider inviting local bands, artists, composers, storytellers,
potters and writers. Have local talent scheduled for each day and also present
the art achievements of your school. The major function during the week can be
a combined arts, musical and drama presentation by all our artists. All
artwork is set up and displayed in the school and parents, teacher, students
and staff walk through and enjoy our art gallery. At the same time choirs,
jazz groups and vocal groups can perform.
ENTERTAINMENT
ACTIVITIES
Grape Toss
Students work in partners one tossing and one catching
the grape in their mouth. The organizers designate distances. The team that
tosses the grape and catches it at the greatest distance is the winner.
Rootbeer Chug
Students sign up prior to the event so you will know
how much rootbeer to order. The competition is a timed event. The five
fastest times enter the finals. The person with the fastest time wins. (hint:
have plastic lined garbage cans available for spillage.)
Hot Pepper Eating Contest
Students sign up ahead of time. The
individual who eats the most hot peppers wins. Have water available for the
participants.
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