Outlawed and out-of-this-world students flooded the halls of Communications High School (CHS) to kick off Day 1 of 2024 Spring Spirit Week on March 18.
Adhering to the outfit theme, Aliens vs. Cowboys, students of all grade levels wore their best extraterrestrial or wild west apparel.
However, the junior class earned the most participation points, scoring the maximum 20 out of 20. They were trailed by the seniors with 18, the sophomores with 15 and the freshmen with 10.
The Class of 2025 also came out on top in the daily scavenger hunt, finishing item collection before all other grade levels. Some notable items retrieved were a CHS playbill, three K-Cups and a portable speaker.
The juniors earned 20 points, while the seniors, sophomores and freshmen earned 18, 15 and 10, respectively.
When prompted on the extreme effort of her class, Junior Class Treasurer Christie DeNicola of Tinton Falls shared that the Class of 2025 isn’t just focused on winning, but making CHS history.
“The juniors are really bringing it their all this Spirit Week because, if we win this one, it will be four consecutive wins, which will be the first time ever in Spirit Week history,” DeNicola said.
While some classes have surpassed four Spirit Week wins, no class has done so in succession. As the juniors enter this Spirit Week off of their third straight win, they are “really coming for blood,” DeNicola said.
Regardless of the motivation, the juniors fell short in the main event of the day: Cupcake Wars. Four representatives from each grade were to bake three different cupcakes, and decorate them in conjunction with the day’s theme, Aliens vs. Cowboys. Each class was judged by a panel of teachers that took display, taste and creativity into consideration.
The seniors triumphed over the event, receiving 40 points for their victory in the largest point-scoring challenge of the day. They were followed by the freshmen scoring 35 points, the juniors scoring 25 and the sophomores scoring 15.
Senior Class Vice President Garret Stemetzki of Wall Township was a part of the winning cupcake-baking team. He credits the big win to the fact that the team of seniors gave the competition everything they had.
“Me, Emma, Jordan, and Julia [the senior representatives]… we agreed on a theme we wanted and then we were just like, ‘let’s go wild!’” Stemetski said. “And it worked out.”
The team’s winning display incorporated a centralized solar system with western themes throughout. In their presentation, the seniors sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denever, and proceeded to elaborate on the details of their creation in a southern accent. The Class of 2024 also worked with the metaphor that there was a new sheriff in town: Bonilla, a play on the principal’s recent entry into CHS. Students believe it was these clever quips and creative concepts that earned the seniors the victory.
Staggered competition rankings along with the sophomore and freshman classes’ additional points from Spring Fling participation caused day one of Spring Spirit Week to close in a tight competition.
The first day concluded with the seniors in first place with 73 points, followed by the juniors with 65 points. In third place is the freshmen with 60 points, and in fourth is the sophomores with 45 points.
Tomorrow students are slated to dash in a relay race while wearing “Green Day” garb, which could manifest in a tribute to the popular rock band or festive Irish apparel. With more challenges on the horizon, Spring Spirit Week 2024 is truly any grade’s game.
