To commemorate a new school year Perry has decided to adopt a new slogan, P18. It stands for the 18th year of Perry High School. However, many students haven’t come to the conclusion of why. Why this year are we as a student body and administration deciding to celebrate Perry’s 18th year? To start, P18 is more than just a slogan; it represents the school as a whole and develops a sense of unity among the student body. Vice principal Kevin Ames proudly states “Perry is unlike any other school I’ve worked at, in a good way. It starts with the people, with the students, the people I work with every day: teachers, security, custodial.”
P18 signifies unity within the community and fosters a sense of hope and confidence in our school. Ames further goes on to explain “How do we become the best versions of ourselves this year… we want to become the standard of what everyone sees us as, regardless of whether it’s in athletics, or academics, or fine arts or clubs how can we be the very best version (of those things) this year.” Ames expressed a very personal side of what P18 means to him elaborating that “I do school tours for people every Wednesday, a commonly asked question is “‘What’s Perry like? What’s the culture like?.. I could talk about how many AP tests we give or how successful our team is or how well our orchestra does, yet it’s more about how we feel about each other and about how welcoming the campus is for everybody.”
Ames then goes on to elaborate, “I think it’s personal to me because that is really what I want to convey to anyone who steps on this campus for the very first time is how we are different and that’s really what P18 is.” However, P18 might mean something a little bit different to teachers. Sophomore English teacher Damien Tippett explains “It’s something to rally behind, we’ve never had that before, I mean is there gonna be a P19, P20, how are we going to keep reinventing ourselves… but I like that it’s something we can get behind as far as our cultures concern”
Perry is home to the Pumas. On the morning announcements we might hear “Make it a great day around here in the Puma nation” but how do we make that something to get behind? How does Perry create something to stand behind? Tippett goes on to further explain that “I think it means pride…I came to Perry the same year Mrs. Patterson came to Perry, I’ve been through the same trainings that she’s been through I’ve endured the same changes that a lot of the original teachers have been through, we’ve seen the growth of this school and I think (P18) definitely means more to us that have been around awhile than some of the newer teaches.” P18 means more than just a slogan, it symbolizes pride, progress, and purpose and shows the school as more of a second home for its students, not just a place to go and learn.
