Spirit Week 2020

Several years ago, our intrepid SAC Sponsor, Ms Marci McLean, had an idea to boost the spirits of our students before the midterm break. As the days are short and the nights are long in January and February in the Pacific Northwest, an idea was hatched to bring more joy to the inevitable grit that exists during this time of year. The creation of Spirit Week has transformed our school into a place of multiple celebrations and themes combined with several big ticket activities for our students. Spirit Week began as an experiment and is now solidified into the annual planning cycle of our school. Lasting ten days, not just a week, Spirit Week is a scheduled break from Brentwood normality. During Spirit Week, the school is on a daily regimen of dress up days, international food festivals, and entertainment in Crooks Hall such as Karaoke in the Caf and Interhouse Acapella. The break from our normal dress is a welcome change for the student body who get to wear their “civies” but always as a part of a dress up theme. The most popular dress up day for me this year was Crazy Sock Day. Several of the events during Spirit Week are centered around our indoor winter sports of basketball and hockey. Special dinners and the “Hype Squad” at these events allow for student participation at a high level. Many of the games are also live streamed to parents at home who join in the excitement. This year both boys’ basketball teams hosted tournaments during Spirit Week, the Girls had their Showcase against Shawnigan, and the tradition of Showcase Hockey Night in Mill Bay brought much of our student body out to watch our seniors play St. George’s. Spirit Week is an incredibly rich and meaningful addition to our campus schedule, and we should all be thankful that Ms McLean has devoted so much time and energy to making it happen. It is an amazing way to take us through January and bridge the gap from the darkness to the light! Ms McLean has also asked me to thank Suzanna G for her terrific leadership of the SAC; LJ Land Ashley C for their roles as Head of Spirit Week; Sophie H and Maddy W for running the Giant Jenga Tournament for 7 days; Finn M and Maurits F for running the Smash Bros Tournament for 7 days; and to Olivia S and Maya V for their organization and support with the Hype Squad. Cheers!