Assemblies. Every quarter, students look forward to the big assembly where the sports stars are recognized, dances are performed and games are played. Whether it was Cheer’s incredible stunts or StuGO’s crowd riling speeches, most students in the Puma nation thoroughly enjoy assemblies.

Just as life begins to return to normal, yet another curveball has been thrown. Perry high school will be unable to host any school assemblies for the near future. In a press conference with Principal Dan Serrano, it was discussed that “we are not going to have any large gatherings in the gym until it is safe.” But where does that lead school spirit? How is the Puma Nation going to ‘get hype’?

StuGO, having been placed in charge of assemblies in the past, has worked diligently to figure this dilemma out. StuGo advisor Ms. Lerina Johnson, has stated that “we hope to have a virtual assembly.” What exactly does that mean for all of the other students?  Is student involvement going to decrease? Sophomore Vice President, Ella Hanks has explained that “we would try to keep it [the assembly] as normal as possible. But instead of meeting in the gym, you would just watch it remotely.” The week leading up to the assembly was just as exciting as the assembly itself. StuGo would sit outside and host activities every day at lunch, kids would be dressing up, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves (either because they loved the festivities or they knew that school was almost out for break). Spirit days are one of the biggest parts of one’s high school career. During spirit week, seeing someone dressed up as a cowboy or a hilarious meme was not unusual.  Remembering the days before Covid 19 struck, the real question is, what will happen to spirit week?  Ms. Johnson has said that promoting school spirit is “taking some creativity for sure, but we[Stugo] want to do whatever we can.” This includes, “crown[ing] royalty, decorat[ing] hallways, hav[ing] lunch time activities,” and hopefully hosting spirit days.

All in all, this year’s school spirit may look a little different than last’s, but just know that school spirit will still exist, assembly or not.