Winterfest Assembly 2019 Photos

Every year, Winterfest Week is packed with school spirit and much anticipation for the upcoming activities. But what may not be noticed is the amount of time and effort that goes into producing the best possible assembly for the students, staff, and parents of the school. From the minute the opening assembly song begins to play, the assembly committee worked hard to pull off an outstanding assembly to commemorate the week.

Four years ago, a group of teachers including Brad Anderson, Laura Stiles, and Ken George came together to form an assembly committee in order to execute the best possible school assemblies. As they introduced new and exciting ideas, the assemblies continue to thrive as the years passed by.

“The other teachers and I got together and decided that the assemblies needed something special,” Stiles said. “So for the past few years, we have been trying to keep these assemblies kind of high energy and keep them organized to make sure that they are fun and have a good purpose.”

For weeks before the event, the staff begins to plan out the activities, games, and competitions that will occur during the assembly. After they pass around ideas, they make their final decisions and begin the preparation for when the assembly will take place.

“We do a shared document for about two weeks, and we all chime in on what we want to add or any ideas we have,” Stiles said. “By the time we get to the assembly, everybody has had their input, and we print it out and all walk in knowing what we are going to do.”

Although it may be unnoticed by many, there is truly a science and reasoning behind the order of each event during an assembly. As only a small period of time is allotted for the event, the group of teachers comes together and specifically plans out how long each event will last.

Not only do they know down to the second how long every individual activity will take, but they also have an extra activity planned just in case there is spare time in the end.

“We have a down to the minute agenda,” Stiles said “We know that the national anthem takes one minute and forty-five seconds, and we even play out each game. We actually had one extra event for if we needed more time after we finished.”

For many years, it has been a tradition for the Winterfest Court couples to create their own lip syncs to perform during the assembly. They proved to be loved by the students and were the highlight of the assembly for most involved.

The duos danced alongside their friends to songs including hits from Ariana Grande’s new album and even a few old favorites. As they performed for the audience, the crowd loved the creativity and humor that was instilled within each dance.

“My favorite activity was definitely the court lip syncs,” student council president Tess Bond said. “It takes a lot of courage for everyone participating, and I absolutely love to see how it comes together.”

Following the lip syncs, the grades faced off in a humorous obstacle course challenge. It proved to be a success for the event, but planning it was a larger challenge than many may expect.

Coming up with the perfect game is the greatest challenge for the staff when planning the assembly. It can be difficult to receive a lot of student involvement, so finding a game that everyone will enjoy and want to participate in proves to be a struggle each time an assembly is in the making.

“I think the game is a tough one to come up with, and it is hard to come up with a game that is fun and interesting,” Stiles said. “That’s why tug-of-war is so fun because there are one hundred people on the floor, so one of the biggest challenges is always what event or what game do you play that would be funny and good for the assembly.”

During the game, members of each grade had to begin by dressing in a full snowsuit and end by winning the human bobsled race. Cheers and laughter erupted in the stands as the seniors faced the sophomores in the final round of the game. The seniors ended in victory, but the activity was still enjoyed by everyone in attendance.

Throughout the year, the Winterfest assembly is an event that nearly every student looks forward to. The high energy of bringing the entire school together creates an exciting atmosphere and spurs anticipation for the announcement of king and queen as well as the dance itself.

“I like to participate because you’re only in high school once,” sophomore class president Taylor Baumgardner said. “It’s important to make the best of it and represent the class to the best of your ability.”