Littered throughout the halls are feathers freshly plucked off boas. Capes, whistles and beaded necklaces are donned over students. Senior girls gather in the parking lot before school snapping pictures to post on Instagram, proving to others that they have the most spirit. In this unprecedented year the sliver of normalcy that the return of spirit week brought back to Staples was needed more than ever.
However, the tradition of spirit week has turned from a school-wide event to one mostly celebrated by the senior class, which is quite the opposite of its true intention of full school unity. Spirit week should not only be an event for the senior class to enjoy but one that every grade and student at Staples participates in.
To say I wasn’t devastated that my last year of high school consisted of no football games, spirit week, school dances and countless other rite-of-passage moments that we seniors have been looking forward to, would be a lie. But despite all of the changes this year has brought, the senior internship program has prevailed, allowing.
As I settle into my role as a second semester senior, I can safely attest that the road to getting to this point in the year was far from smooth. Unlike everyone else who has had to adapt to the new reality of a COVID-19 world, seniors had to navigate it while simultaneously trying to.
Every year the holiday season is unofficially underway when bright lights illuminate the Staples high school stage and music fills the air, commencing the annual Candlelight concert. A performance so highly valued by Westport, this year’s concert held even more importance as it was the 80th year of Candlelight.
Despite the historic anniversary, the concert looked very different from the year’s prior. As COVID-19 concerns grew, a decision was made to hold a virtual concert for thousands of viewers to enjoy from the comforts of their own couch. Free tickets were able to be reserved on the Staples music website, which granted every ticket holder access to a live streaming link.