By Yasmin Hasan, Angela Huang, Shankar Raghunandan, Tamanna Saidi and Halima Tokhi, staff writers

What do PE teacher Lauren Caiaccia and Social Studies teacher Adam Stonehill have in common? Both constantly wear Townsend Harris apparel. After what started as a friendly competition between the two to see who could wear more apparel, they decided to open the competition to all students and faculty, resulting in Townsend Harris High School’s first truly school-wide Clothes Streak competition. All members of the school community are challenged to wear Townsend Harris apparel for the longest amount of consecutive days.

Starting November 15th up until winter break, participants are challenged to wear a Townsend Harris top daily, ranging from a sport team’s reversible to a grade hoodie or even a FON shirt. Freshmen have to participate for a minimum of five days, sophomores for a minimum of ten days, juniors for a minimum of fifteen days, and seniors for a minimum of twenty days. Every top can only be worn once. The goal of this competition is to see who has the most school spirit. If there is a tie between two students, the competition will continue day by day until one of them loses.

All participants must send a picture of themselves wearing each outfit to thhscontest@gmail.com. Daily submissions are cut off at midnight, so contenders must submit their photos on time.

Mr. Stonehill and Ms. Caiaccia agree that the contest will be a fun way for everyone to show Townsend Harris pride. Ms. Caiaccia said that even though the experience itself is rewarding, there will be three winners per grade as well as three faculty member winners, all of whom will enjoy a pizza party. Additionally, the first place winner from each grade will be given extra credit in their PhysEd class.

Many students and faculty are already excited to be a part of this new competition. Mr. Stonehill states, “Ms. Caiaccia might be the only person who can beat me, but I’m excited to see how this goes.”

English teacher Katherine Yan says, “As an alumna I think that this would help foster school spirit, which I think was lacking when I went to school here. Having teachers and students all involved in the same event is really something special. Townsend Harris is a nice small community and asking what school activities the shirts are from can be a good opening for a conversation.”

Senior Emily Gomez, a devoted member of the bowling, flag football, and basketball teams says, “I feel like this is a great way to showcase our school spirit and unite the student body. A friendly competition amongst our peers is never bad.”

Junior Rosa Caputo, part of the basketball, volleyball, and softball teams, expresses a similar opinion and feels that “It’s a good idea for everyone to participate and hopefully this will turn into something we do every year.”

Sophomore Julia Hong states, “I usually don’t wear any Townsend Harris apparel throughout the school year, but I’m excited for the challenge.”

Some students are concerned about their qualifications, with Freshman Mehakpreet Kaur expressing, “I don’t think I even own two pieces of Townsend Harris Apparel yet.” The competition is meant to be challenging and because this is the first year it’s happening Ms. Caiaccia and Mr. Stonehill are open to any suggestions on how to better the requirements.

The goal is to get enough participants so that students and staff will feel like they’re missing out if they aren’t wearing any Townsend Harris apparel. Are you up to the challenge?