To kick off the new school year with school spirit and unity, STUCO hosted mini spirit week the week of September 17, 2019. Claire Flanagan from the class of 2022 says, regarding mini spirit week, that “It helps everyone in our school connect and bond. I felt like we became closer as a community even in mini spirit week and can’t wait for spirit week!”  Mini spirit week included various activities and games, different dress downs and accents to the uniform, and rounded off with a big assembly. The games played this year were suitcase race on Monday, Minute to Win it on Wednesday, and then to round the week off, the school went head to head in a heated battle of musical chairs on Friday at the assembly.

On Monday the school added accents to their uniforms based on their respective class colors. The freshman wore their class shirts, the sophomores wore green, the juniors were in red, and the seniors wore blue. The activity during break on Monday was suitcase race, where all classes battled hard, but the juniors were victorious. Tuesday’s theme was twin day, and the students twinned with one another wearing the same shirts or sweatshirts. While there was no activity the spirit was still high. On Wednesday the girls showed their support for their favorite sports teams, wearing jerseys to accent their uniforms. Along with the sports theme, Wednesday had a fan favorite activity during break: Minute to Win It. This year’s Minute to Win it activities included the Oreo challenge, mummy race, and ping pong ball race. Thursday’s theme was tie dye, creating a groovy mood throughout the school. Finally, the climax to mini spirit week was Friday. Friday was a full SHA themed dress down where the students dressed in red and white; the school colors. This year instead of having the activity during break, the final activity took place during an assembly at the end of the day. The intense final activity was musical chairs. The school came down to the gym where each grade sent four girls to take part in the game. The battle was intense coming down to one junior and one senior. After what seemed like ages, but was in reality three minutes, a winner was crowned. Junior Jianna Cohrs won the intense musical chairs throw-down.

A new addition to spirit week this year was a reward for the most spirited class according to a committee of teachers. This year the reward for most spirit was a day to wear a sweatshirt to school rather than the gray fleece or maroon sweater. The winner of most spirited class were the seniors this year. Even though each class may not have won an event or a reward, mini spirit week was an exciting time for the entire school community.

Nikita Khanna of the sophomore class said, “Mini spirit week brings together our grade and prepares us for spirit week.” The activities and festivities of mini spirit bring together the school community, and showcase the unity between each class. It serves as a taste for spirit week in the spring and is a great way to ring in the new school year. Overall, mini spirit week of 2019 was a time of bonding and excitement for the Sacred Heart Academy community.