The senior class continues to celebrate its Spirit Week victory after a decisive after-school closing rally featuring games, cheers, and dance on Friday afternoon.

The seniors, following a pattern set through the past three years, won the overall competition with 305 points. The victory marks the first time the Class of 2005 has ever won Spirit Week. Behind were the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen in second, third, and fourth place; their point totals were 277, 246, and 234 respectively. The seniors’ consistent participation in lunchtime rallies throughout the previous four days was the main determinant in their victory.

The juniors won the float competition and spirit dance, the highlight of the rally, with a “rubber ducky” theme.

The seniors built a slot machine erupting fake ‘$05’ bills with pictures of Charles Vickery, the ASB president. It placed second.

The sophomore float was a red fire truck, complete with fire hose and hydrant.

The freshmen utilized a Finding Nemo theme; the float featured an underwater scene with Nemo the clownfish and a sunken treasure chest beneath him. A committee of faculty members from various departments judged the floats. According to math instructor Ellie Slack, a member of the judging committee, criteria included the use of color and the creativity of the theme. “It (the race) was very close, ” she said.

The class of 2006 also won the hula-hoop contest, which involved six people passing a hula hoop from one end to the other and back while their hands were joined. Due to misunderstandings of the rules, only the junior team was aware that the hoop must be passed back to the start; thus the juniors were automatically declared as the winners. The other classes had a rematch, and the second, third, and fourth places went to the freshmen, seniors, and sophomores, respectively.

In the class cheer, each class focused on criticizing the others. This teasing is acceptable only when appropriate and used in moderation. “One class used offensive language [in its class cheer],” Slack said. “That obviously docks a lot of points.” Other evaluation criteria included volume, coordination, and content of the cheers.

The seniors won the tug-of-war, followed by the sophomores, freshmen, and juniors. In compliance with previous years’ rules, members of the football teams were barred from participating.

The rally also featured separate dance performances by the Paly cheerleading team, the “Hipnotik” dance team, as well as faculty members.

Some of the factors of Spirit Week were less obvious. “The cleanup [of the floats after presentation] is worth about 30 points,” Slack said. After the performance, a group of seniors quickly demolished their float for disposal, while the freshman and sophomore floats were left to a comparatively few number of people.

Public responses to the performances varied. While many enjoyed the festivities and poured their school spirit into the cheers, some spectators were less satisfied with the originality of the performances. “The shows are about the same every year,” said one spectator who wished to remain anonymous.

At the Homecoming Dance held Saturday night, seniors Thomas O’Connell and Kimberly Schisler were named the Homecoming King and Queen. The titles were determined solely by popular vote.