In order to raise spirits before the Columbus v. Hardaway football game, Columbus High School hosted a Hunt-A-Hawk Pep Rally on Friday, October 1st. For freshmen and sophomores, this was their first official high school pep rally.
During the 2020-2021 school year, Columbus High School hosted no pep rallies. This was due to national guidelines prohibiting social gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, CHS is attempting to bring back some of the traditions that were lost last year.
The pep rally was divided into two groups: underclassmen and upperclassmen. Freshmen and sophomores attended first. Once this group left the gymnasium, juniors and seniors attended during the latter half of seventh period.
This arrangement was intended to decrease the number of students in the gym at one time, allowing for more distance between them.
While Columbus High has had a few pep rallies this school year, they have been restricted to seniors only, leaving freshman and sophomores to wonder what will happen in the days leading up to the event.
"I'm excited; I think it'll be a great new experience," says freshman Katie Krump who, like many others, attended her first high school pep rally on Friday.
"I hope that we have an experience that I will remember," reveals JV basketball player and sophomore Tyrell Baldwin. "I feel like I'm officially part of high school now. Last year it was just like a step into high school; it wasn't fully high school."
After the pep rally, underclassmen shared their thoughts on the event.
The pep rally was "pretty cool," remarks sophomore Austin Yang.
"It thought it'd be boring, [but] it was fun," admits freshman Tanisha Prasade.
In order to prepare underclassmen for the pep rally, Columbus High scheduled an extended homeroom to teach underclassmen proper protocol for pep rallies, including cheers and chants.
For all students at Columbus High, this pep rally is a step towards normalcy now that all students are back in the building.
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