By Matthew Rostkowski
Rocky Hill High School’s annual Pep Rally returned this October following its absence last year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Needless to say, it certainly had some changes from the past.
The event this year took place outside on McVicar field and in the stands, with students needing to wear masks while sitting in the bleachers, rather than in the gym. Only Juniors and Seniors participated this year due to group size limitations admit the pandemic, unique from all grades being involved in the celebration in years prior.
With all of the restrictions and guidelines surrounding the pandemic and ambiguity for students with what the new pep rally would be like, senior class officer Jason McGowan described how, “The uncertainty around safety protocols and the last-minute nature of the event brought inherent uncertainty and confusion into the planning process. Even on the day of the pep rally, my fellow officers and I still struggled to find players for certain events. However, with consistent diligence we were fortunately able to see our plans come to fruition.”
Although different from previous years, the new setting allowed for a multitude of unique changes and opportunities to occur.
The event opened with the fall sports teams being acknowledged and captains getting the opportunity to share how their respective team’s season went over the intercom. Then, the three main events took place which this year was a soccer game, tug of war, and a relay race, with all events being juniors versus seniors. Throughout, there were student hosts of the Pep Rally commenting on the events at hand over the intercom.
One of whom was senior Makayla Martin who admitted, “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but overall I would say that the experience was very enjoyable and I would recommend it. It was nice to see the student body involved in this part of the pep rally because in previous years it was very different.”
When all was said and done, the seniors walked away with the win, beating the juniors in tug of war and soccer and losing in the relay race.
With students being back in the stands cheering and playing in the events, things seemed strangely familiar at RHHS, something that Makayla is thankful for given that it is her senior year, “I’m glad that we were able to have this event to look back on once we graduate.”