Samo surfs into the new year with beach themed pep rally
In front of a packed, energetic crowd of students at the Greek Amphitheater, Samo hosted their first pep rally of the school year on September 8. It was a highlight of the year so far, especially for the Class of 2024, whose first two years of school-wide events were taken away by COVID-19. To honor the end of the summer, the rally was given a beach theme as many pool floats, towels, and palm tree balloons littered the area, giving it a festive and relaxed vibe. As always, each class was divided into four color groups, with the freshmen wearing yellow, the sophomores wearing gray, the juniors wearing blue, and the seniors wearing white.
After the Samo Chamber Choir sang the national anthem, the school’s fall varsity sports were introduced one by one, with football, tennis, volleyball, and other sports coming out of the Viking tunnel to the sound of catchy pop music. It was an enjoyable experience for everyone in attendance, including the co-host of the pep rally, ASB president Maryamawet Wondwossen ('24).
“It’s really a group effort to put on the pep rallies and the committee has put in a lot of work for this one,” Wondwossen said. “Hosting the pep rally was really fun and it was fun to see each section enjoying themselves.”
The main activities of the pep rally arrived after dance performances by Samo Cheer and the Samo Golden Poms, with the latter showing off a dance sequence accompanied by Barbie Girl by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice. Then, the games began. There was a pool float stacking competition that a student from the sophomore class won and an exciting game of musical chairs won by a student from the freshman class. The popular tradition of playing Finish The Lyric was rife with energy as the senior class drowned out all other classes, singing along to hits like Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and Get Lucky by Daft Punk.
“This may be biased but my favorite part of the rally was the seniors doing the finish the lyrics game,” Wondwossen said. “I loved seeing all their energy and being able to see my friends enjoy themselves.”
The pep rally was hosted by both Wondwossen and Josie Schwartz ('24), who were both elected to their respective positions as this year’s leaders of Samo’s Associated Student Body last spring. While it was a fun experience for the Class of 2027 to experience their first sampling of Viking pride, it was also bittersweet for the Class of 2024, as the last first pep rally of their high school careers is now over.
“I honestly feel grateful that we are able to have these pep rallies,” Wondwossen said. “We are able to get two full years of rallies and everyone is willing to be spirited and come to the rally with such amazing energy, which makes the rallies more enjoyable.”