To kick off our fall spirit week, we started with Pink-Out Monday, dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In my unprofessional opinion, this was a grand way to start off because not only did it give me time to plan outfits for the upcoming days, but it was super easy to participate in. Junior Allison Keefe agrees saying, “Starting the week off representing breast cancer awareness shows that our school cares, and it was a good way to start by connecting all the students with a day everyone can easily do.” Despite how easy we believe it was to participate, the seniors and freshmen were off to a very rough start. 

Senior Jack Allyn aggressively stated, “It is an absolute disgrace and dishonor to the class of 2022, after our multiple years of experience in Spirit Week, that we are officially not in first place after the first day.” The ending results for day one were juniors in first, sophomores in second, seniors in third, and freshmen in last. With that being said, I think it’s fair to say that the seniors needed to step up their game!

While walking through the hallways on our second day of Spirit Week, it was easy to notice that it was Tropical Tuesday! Students outdid themselves in making an effort to wear floral shirts, flip flops, hats, tropical socks, sunglasses, and so much more that I wish I thought of. Sophomore Brady Moorehead says,“I enjoyed Tropical Tuesday because of the amount of endless positivity of expression.”

 Freshman Athena Elliott also says, “I really liked Tropical Tuesday because it was really fun and I got funny pictures with people and gave a bunch of freshmen hula leis. Tropical Tuesday was definitely my favorite day out of the week.” 

Tropical Tuesday is a classic and in a way, it allows us to feel like it’s still summertime in October, for at least the day. Unlike the previous day, seniors’ participation was strong, but not strong enough to steal first place from the juniors. After day two, the results were: juniors in first, seniors in second, sophomores in third, and freshmen in last. Overall, the participation was outstanding and we were all eager to see if the freshmen could step it up for the upcoming days.

Cowboy hats, flannels, lassos, and boots cluttered the cafeteria on the morning of Western Wednesday.  Even though the participation was significant, there were many conflicting thoughts revolving around the western theme. For example, junior Lindsay Farina says, “I think it’s great that Ledyard is acknowledging our stereotypical culture by having a Western Wednesday.” Many students, like Farina, found the theme to be a little ironic, goofy, and comical while others absolutely hated the idea. Junior Mary Ann Trant says, “I didn’t really like this idea just because I feel like there are better ideas out there, and I know many people already wear flannel shirts regularly, and that is what the majority of people are wearing today, so it’s not unique or different.” There are many different ways having a Western Wednesday at Ledyard may seem unoriginal, frustrating, and even repetitive, but overall, the participation from all grades were high and memories were made that we won’t be able to forget. At the end of the day, seniors and juniors were tied for first place, sophomores remained in second, and the freshmen were still trying to tunnel their way out of last place.

Unlike our spirit weeks in the past, the Color Wars took place on day four, rather than day five, due to having an early dismissal on Friday. Color Wars Day was, without a doubt, the day with the highest level of participation from all grades and filled our hallways with a sea of blue, green, red, and yellow. Senior Brianna Decosta says, “Me and Sara [Cox] spent over $130 at Party City for Color Wars.” It is obvious to see, seniors were taking Color Wars very seriously. 

Junior Jess English, speaking for herself, Lindsay Davis, and Madelyn Poulton says, “In our opinion, Color Wars are so fun and very easy to participate in and when people don’t show their school spirit on Color Wars Day, it makes us very upset.”

 Evidently, if you didn’t wear your assigned class colors on Thursday, it’s likely that you were feeling some heat from your classmates. We ended the day with our outdoor pep rally where the four classes battled it out through games including tug of war, a relay race, and a water balloon toss. 

After all of the games ended, and the points were added up, we were finally able to find out which class was overall the best. It ended with seniors stealing first, juniors in second, and the sophomores and freshmen tied for last place. 

Not only did we find out who won overall, but the Homecoming Court was announced and crowned. Senior Ayden Harris says, “It was so great seeing all the classes display their pride for Ledyard and their peers. It was even better having the seniors’ pride justified when we won the games.” It’s fair to say the seniors were ecstatic about winning this year’s Spirit Week, and that overall it was extremely fun considering that many things students look forward to this year are being canceled due to Covid-19. It was so nice to be able to make memories as a school and truly show the underclassman how united our school is.

To wrap up the Spirit Week fun, we ended with Colonel Pride Friday/Fancy Friday. Due to Covid-19, we were not able to have a homecoming dance and many seniors came together and planned to turn the classic Colonel Pride Day into a shared day where students can wear homecoming apparel. Senior Samantha Money, who started the Fancy Friday idea, says, “I just wanted a day that would be safer than kids throwing homecoming parties and risking the spread of Covid even more, but still gave you a fun vibe for all the kids who’ve been missing the excitement of homecoming and seeing your friends dress up all cute. It was a great time and those who participated would agree.” Having a shared day was an exponential idea because it allowed those who wanted to have the feeling of homecoming to dress up with their friends, and it also allowed the students who didn’t want to dress up to show their Colonel pride and represent our school with pictures on social media. 

To conclude everything previously stated, Spirit Week and the pep rally were an insanely successful and fun way to bring our school together and to have a little more normalcy. Speaking for all students, It is safe to say that we appreciate all the planning that came from the Student Congress and can not wait to see what they come up with for the spring Spirit Week!

Senior Emily Goodrich is a staff writer for the 2021-2022 yearbook. She is the Class Vice President and an NHS member. When she’s not harassing her mom to go to the beach or with friends, you could probably find her napping