Spirit Week is a tradition at many high schools across the nation. At Lincoln, the first Spirit Week of the year took place the week of Oct. 10. The week consisted of four different days: Denim Day, Tacky Tourist Day, Dynamic Duo Day and Color Wars.

Denim Day:

On Monday, Oct. 10, students participated in “Denim Day,” which saw them dress up in all denim material, including pants, shirts, jackets, skirts and more. The day had a relatively good turnout with most people at least wearing jeans. But there were some who went all out in full head-to-toe in denim including denim headbands, necklaces and shoes.  

Feelings about Denim Day seemed divided. Some loved the idea, while others were completely against it and wore what they normally would on any other day.

Jessica Motley, sophomore, says, “Denim Day is fine, but I would prefer to have Pajama Day instead.” Many students felt very passionate about this and the day left a bad taste in their mouths.

Tacky Tourist Day:

Tuesday, Oct. 11, was “Tacky Tourist Day.” Students dressed as stereotypical tourists from all around the world. If they participated, most dressed up in a flowered Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, fanny packs, binoculars and high socks and birkenstocks.

This day got lots of love from students but some felt it didn’t get the turn out it deserved. Eliza Grant, sophomore, says “I love the idea of ‘Tacky Tourist Day,’ but I don’t have the clothes that are tacky and touristy.” Although many students went through their parents’ closets or bought clothes at Goodwill, the turnout for this Spirit Week day could have been better.

Dynamic Duo Day:

Wednesday, Oct. 12, was set aside as “Dynamic Duo Day.” Students could either dress up in correspondence with a friend (Twin day) or they could dress up as duos from movies, TV shows, cartoons, etc. (Example: Batman and Robin). This day had a lot of variety. Students dressed up in pairs, trios, and quadruples and some were seen in costumes that ranged from ketchup and mustard, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and twins.

“Dynamic Duo Day” was harder to coordinate than the other days, which then lead to simpler ideas for some students. “The idea is amazing but, I think that it’s a little more complicated to coordinate. Especially being in the middle of the week, I think it’s harder to get a big turnout,” sophomore Sophia Zhang says.

Color Wars:

Thursday Oct. 13, was “Color Wars” day. Each class was assigned a color, and the students wear that color. Traditionally, freshman wear white, sophomores wear green, juniors wear blue, and seniors wear red.

As usual, this day was the most successful of all the spirit days. The entire school wore their respective class colors and attended the school assembly that will definitely be talked about for the rest of the school year. The halls were decked out in class colors and students weren’t afraid to let their class flags fly.

All grades performed in class skits with each being better than the last. All skits included song and dance from classic songs including ones from the Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls to High School Musical and Hannah Montana the movie.

All students, no matter their grade, agree that Color Wars is definitely the assembly of the year. Incoming freshman thought it was one of the best assemblies they have ever been to. The sophomores, juniors, and seniors all knew what they were getting themselves into but, had no idea what to expect. “That was so much fun, definitely the best one yet,” says Zhang.

Spirit Week was all around a success. Principal Peyton Chapman loves Spirit Week and the purpose it serves to the students saying, “The intended purpose is to celebrate school spirit, build community, and provide creative ways for students to de-stress and bond with their classmates.

“Color Wars is ideally to help students start to build class unity as well as whole school unity through a tradition that allows learners to use their creativity and imagination to create playful costumes, colorful hall decorations, and assembly activities that represent the talent at our school.”

While Spirit Week is fun for the students, Chapman still tries to emphasize the importance of community by saying, “Vandalism of other classes halls is not caring or principled and we really need students to help us eradicate that negative trend or we will be in danger of losing this activity in future years.

“We also want to make sure that all the assembly activities make all students feel valued and included. Our leadership students are doing a great job building school spirit and I’m thankful they have been so open to reflecting on ways we can continue to improve this tradition.”

See the Cardinal Times’ galleries of each day of Spirit Week by clicking here.