After two years of not having any school assemblies, Elmira High School held an assembly during 7th period on Friday to rally some school spirit.
Friday also was a class colors day, represented by the 9th grade class in blue, 10th-graders in red, 11th-graders in white and 12th-graders in black.
Two sessions of the assembly were held to ensure compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols.
During each session of the assembly, student volunteers played four games in which the winners/winning teams won $10 gift cards to various places. The games were Balloon Hungry Hungry Hippos with four teams of two; an eating contest with four competitors (one from each class); a shaving cream catch game with four teams of two; and a musical chairs game with eight people (two from each class).
For the first game, two competitors from each grade and two staff members battled in a classic game of musical chairs.
The first session had a battle between sophomore Brett Highburger and social studies teacher DesiRae Wright-Rendon, with Highburger the last person sitting. Library aide Tessa Slager and English teacher Michelle Nelson rushed to take a seat in the second session of musical chairs. A face-off between sophomore Morgan Wondra and junior Gavin Dorsey ended with Dorsey the champ.
Balloon Hungry Hungry Hippo was a team game with scooters and laundry baskets in which a person pushed their partner around on the scooters to trap balls into laundry baskets, bringing them back to their starting points. In the first session, science teacher James Monegan and health teacher Bo Highburger teamed up for a fierce game. The junior team of Karis Price and Gracie Storey came out on top. In session two, while math teacher Ken Best and P.E. teacher Rob Lee dominated the gym floor, the junior team of Nio Turtura and Jack Reichenberger won the game.
For the eating contest, one student of each grade and a staff member competed to finish a donut on a string without using their hands. Art teacher Tom Edmundson crushed the competition in the first session, even getting in time to take yearbook photos, with junior Scarlett Walter coming in second. In the second session, instructional aide Courtnie Peeler struggled to finish the stringed donut as senior Caleb Mustin theatrically ate his way to first place.
The shaving cream catch was another partner game in which one partner stood with a shower cap and shaving cream on their head and the other threw ping pong balls at their partner, and the team with the most ping pongs on their head won. Principal Rick Gardner and social studies teacher Patrick Wondra competed against ninth-graders Hayden Herbert and Jacob Bradley and the sophomore team of Tristam Woods and David Bay, who tied for first place. Assistant Principal Ricci Huling and English teacher Emmy Erwin fell short against the junior team Elora James and Anton Zaporozhets, with 17 ping pong balls.
Friday’s contests marked a long-awaited gathering of school spirit, and they did not disappoint. As we move forward in the year, and hopefully out of the pandemic, we hope to see more of these events as well as the continued school spirit of Elmira students.
