Dr. Sebold took it upon herself to form a committee including Rick Regina, language arts teacher; Ashley Porter, social studies teacher; Tracey Waeckerle, social studies teacher; John Meyer, practical arts teacher; Eric Schweain, science teacher; Mel Trotier, language arts teacher; and herself to determine what events they could put together to increase school spirit.
“I took some of the ideas for the lunch competitions from Rockwood Summit and from our ‘Back to School’ faculty meeting after it went over so well with the faculty,” Dr. Sebold said.
Chris Brown, junior, competed in the dance competition during third lunch shift last Friday and won the semi-final round.
“It was the first time Marquette has ever done anything like this and by doing these lunch competitions it shows how much fun Marquette can be,” Brown said.
In addition to the lunch competitions, Sebold approached Jamie Overschmidt, art teacher, with the idea to make posters decorating the hallways advertising the pep assembly.
“I definitely think it helped get the news out about the pep assembly, and I’m always up for any opportunity to get my students’ work out in the hallways,” Overschmidt said.
Dr. Sebold originally wanted to hang signs and feature competitions at lunch in order to get the word out about the new pep assembly, which was held last Thursday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in the large gym.
“We were trying to think of more ways to build spirit,” Porter said.
The assembly included performances from all levels of cheerleading and Mystique, the finals of all the lunch competitions, a surprise kissing prank on the football player seniors and more.
“It was really exciting,” Megan Hewitt, junior said. “A lot of students showed up and it gave us a lot more school spirit.”
Hewitt said she thought the pep assembly influenced students to get more involved in Homecoming week festivities.
Porter said she noticed most of the turnout was from the junior and senior classes, but the crowd also included many parents and people from the community.
“It was really successful,” Porter said. “I think [the assembly] was what everyone always expected for Homecoming.”
Porter said she thinks students will now look forward to this new tradition in the coming years.
“I wish it was something Marquette would have done the past three years I’ve been here,” Will Moore, senior, said.
Brown agreed MHS assemblies and spirit week have been a success.
“It’s spirit week and it’s all about having fun,” Brown said.