Pep rally kicks off Homecoming festivities
On October 6, as students entered the Greek Theatre filled with excitement for the second pep rally of the year, they were greeted by an atmosphere filled with star decorations and lively music. This rally was hosted in order to get ready for Homecoming and celebrate those nominated for Homecoming Royalty. To kick off the festivities, the Samo Chamber Choir performed the National Anthem. Shortly after, Samo Cheer had their lively performance with many tricks to a mashup of different rap songs by Kendrick Lemar including “Kings Dead” and “m.A.A.d City.” The junior and senior classes then competed in a soccer match with the participants wearing inflatable orbs, with juniors taking the win. To follow, the Samo Golden Poms performed an intricate dance to “Desperado” by Rihanna and other songs, an enjoyable experience for everyone. Student Isabel Hudson (’24) shared her thoughts on the event, “I really enjoyed the rally,” Hudson said. “I particularly enjoyed Cheer and Pom’s performances and how I got to celebrate my school with my friends.” Next, hosts Jade Furukawa (’24) and Mira Wagabaza (’24) announced the sports teams. Girls’ Flag Football and Boys’ Football had an energetic dance battle, with the Viking mascot also dancing against the two teams. The Greenies, Samo’s water polo and swim team, ran out painted all green, making the crowd go wild.
As students had been anticipating, the Homecoming Court was introduced to Samo students for the first time. Each pair walked out of the inflatable Viking mascot with the audience showing their support for those nominated.
One of the last activities of the rally included the teacher lip sync battle where different teachers performed a routine to a song and students were able to rate each performance. The battle was kicked off by a performance to “Dance the Night Away” by Dua Lipa from the “Barbie” movie soundtrack and consisted of Samo teacher Jason Daglis on roller skates with lots of confetti. Every teacher had an energetic performance, making it enjoyable for all of the audience.
As some noticed, the scheduling for the pep rally was different this year with the rally being a kickoff event and the homecoming football game as the culmination. This was due to scheduling conflicts that needed to be worked around while still giving students their full week of celebration. Overall, pep rallies are an amazing way to build school spirit amongst students. Principal Marae Cruce shares the importance of schoolwide events.
“It’s an opportunity to build community and celebrate together,” Cruce said. “We have a lot of amazing things going on on campus and it’s a chance for all of us to celebrate one another.”
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Martin Ledford / contributor
Homecoming Court nominees Kara Best (’24) and Josh Tang (’24) wave to the audience from a podium at the Oct. 6 pep rally