For the first time in six years, Townsend Harris High School held a pep rally to showcase school spirit and recognize all the different sports students participate in. Organized by the Student Union, students from PSAL teams (accompanied by student musicians) showcased their skills in the THHS gymnasium.
Band 9 was split into two groups, ensuring that all students could comfortably watch the pep rally in the gymnasium stands.
The pep rally’s hosts included several SU members who gave introductions to teams throughout the event. Harry the Hawk, THHS’s mascot, made several appearances and participated in many teams’ performances.
A variety of teams performed dances, played mini games, or showcased their athletic abilities. Sophomore Kelly Vu, a member of the Girls Varsity Swim team, said “My team did a dance choreo and we also said our chant.” Other athletes such as sophomore Emma Kremer, a member of the Girls Varsity Softball team, said her team “showed off [their] throwing skills and hit several ground balls.”
Other teams opted to participate in mini matches like the Varsity Wrestling team, or showcased their achievements like the Boys Badminton team, who displayed their City Champions banner while players rallied with each other across the gym.
When asked what their team would do differently if given another chance, junior Nauman Qureshi, a player on the Wrestling team said, “We would manage our time more efficiently and have more of our wrestlers participate in the pep rally.”
Junior Justin Xia, a player on the Boys Badminton team said, “If we had the opportunity to do it again, we would most likely change [it] to a skit, as presenting a skit is something more unique and different from other teams.”
The sports teams that participated thought this was a great way to enhance school spirit after many years, supporting fellow students and cheering on other sports teams. Ioanna Giannopoulou, the captain of the Girls Varsity Basketball team said, “I thought it was fun, it was a nice way to show school spirit.” The girls did a shootaround as they played music in the background and engaged with the crowd.
On the request of senior advisor Blayne Gelbman, the THHS jazz band showcased their talent by performing several songs throughout the course of the pep rally and were led by music teacher Kevin Heathwood. Junior Loise Arcega, a band student and member of the Girl Varsity Basketball team, described her experience of performing for the rally as “very fun.” However, Loise wished that the band could have included “the audience more, as well as [having the band students be] more involved.” She said, “We did at most three rehearsals for the pep rally, and if we wanted to do new songs, we either learned it by ear or sight read sheet music.”
