Drums and chants rumbled the gym as students showed off their class pride at the first rally of the year today in the Peery Center at Palo Alto High School.
The rally consisted of an opening speech from Principal Brent Kline, then the Paly Band performed the “Paly Fight Song” and “All Right Now” by Free with the new band director, Katie Gilchrist. Junior varsity and varsity cheer teams accompanied the music with their synchronized routines. Following that, the dance team continued the energy with a performance that warmed students up for games between grade levels.
The first game involved transporting a student on an inflated mattress across the gym with other students rolling underneath like a “human conveyer belt.” The freshmen and seniors advanced to the finals, where they were met with a tight match. At the last second, the seniors fell off the inflatable, letting the freshmen take the win.
In the second game, students stood in a line and held hands while trying to pass through a hula hoop from one end to the other without breaking the chain. Through a rocky round, with hula hoops getting stuck multiple times, the sophomores pulled through with a win in the final round against the seniors.
Associated Student Body President Katie Kim said that this year’s rally games were designed to be more engaging and interactive for students.
“We selected the games a little more carefully, especially the ones that are more physical and active rather than, for example, Guess That Song, which is something more stationary,” Kim said.
According to Senior Class Senator Luis Lobos, ASB put significant time and effort into organizing the rally, and the results paid off.
“We planned a lot beforehand,” Lobos said. “We had to make sure all the games were set up, the music, trying to get everybody hype — and it ended up pretty well. Especially for the first rally, it was pretty loud.”
Freshman participant Enzo Lawant said the rallies were a new experience for freshmen and it helped build energy and community.
“The spirit and excitement brought to the rallies motivated a lot of us freshmen who had never been to one,” Lawant said. “I am really looking forward to Spirit Week at Paly. It’s something that doesn’t happen at any middle school, and from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be a pretty fun couple of days.”
According to sophomore participant Isabela Snel, she felt immersed in Paly’s spirit during the chants and games at the rally.
“I really liked the class chants,” Snel said. “It got pretty loud in there, and I was happy to see a lot of new and familiar faces. It truly goes without saying that this school has so much spirit and so much love for representing their classes, and it’s a big part of our culture here at Paly to always give your best and support your grade.”
Lobos said that students can look forward to Spirit Week coming up later in the fall, with possibly new changes.
“We have some sweet things coming up — Spirit Week is definitely going to be fun,” Lobos said. “We have some ideas for Homecoming and it’s still kind of confidential now, but its definitely going to be one for the books.
