The Concord Academy community celebrated Spirit Week from February 15th to 19th 2021! Council presented themes for the week via all school FYI. Students were encouraged to participate, get in the spirit for the week, and be creative. Posters with chameleon drawings were hung all around the school to remind students and teachers to stay involved and excited for spirit week.
Following Presidents’ Day Weekend, on Tuesday the 16th, many students and faculty members could be seen wearing jerseys and gear to support the teams of their liking, as the theme for Tuesday was sports teams. Football, soccer, basketball, and many other sports jerseys were on the backs of students as they attended both virtual and in-person school. For example, Freshman Mohammed Mustakim ’24 wore his Liverpool Football Club jersey in support of his favorite Premier League team, which – of course – delivered a win the same day!
There was no theme for Wednesday the 17th, as there were no official classes that day, though there were class meetings and a mandatory community gathering to listen to CA’s 2021 Hall Fellow, Mallika Chopra ’89.
On Thursday the 18th, the theme was “Home.” This theme was left up to students’ interpretations on how they wanted to show off where they were from. Once again, in-person and virtual students were seen in a wide variety of clothing sporting different towns, cities, and places from all over the world. Freshman Elyse Barry ’24 commented, “I wore a basketball shooter from Middle School, and I interpreted it [the theme] by where I grew up and went to school.”
Concluding Spirit Week was Friday the 19th, where the theme was CA gear. Lots of green shirts, chameleon prints, and Concord Academy logos were flaunted on campus and on Zoom. Some students and faculty even set their Zoom backgrounds to different places around campus such as the boarding houses, the quad, and the entrance gates.
Students such as Sam Klein ’24 enjoyed Spirit Week and commented, “Spirit Week gave me the ability to connect with people over common topics.” Natalie Samulka ’24 agreed, “Spirit Week was a fun time to bond with other classmates and express parts of myself through my clothing.” Overall, Spirit Week was a blast for those who chose to participate, and it was entertaining to see the creativity and interpretations of the themes chosen by the student council. Though this has been a difficult and weird year, it is encouraging that the CA community still has spirit, and is proud to show it!