By Jonathan Yackel

Working tirelessly throughout the summer, the Upper School’s Student Cooperative Association (SCA) is striving to rebuild the school’s culture and welcome back everyone for the school year. As the representative body of students, the group is in charge of cultivating the fun events of the school year and serving as a liaison between students and faculty. This year, however, the SCA is bringing new ideas to the table, in order to unite the student body after months of distance.

“‘Events make people excited to come to school, especially with the stuff we do,” said SCA co-chair Will Pace (‘22). One thing in particular that the SCA is focusing its efforts on is the reestablishment of the culture of the Upper School. Currently, seniors are the only grade that has experienced a full year of normalcy. “With that experience [the senior class] really needs to help take charge in rebuilding the culture,” said Pace, which emphasizes the large task that the class of ‘22 and SCA is faced with this coming year. The SCA wants people to be excited about coming to school and to create a community that everyone wants to be a part of. 

One of the ways they plan on doing that is through random daily events, such as live student music at lunch, or free Kona Ice. They have also replaced events like Movie Night, where students would gather and watch a movie. “At the end of the day, people lose sight of what [Movie Night] is about … it’s kind of overlooked by the upperclassmen” explained Pace. People would often leave the event early, and, to the SCA, it seemed like a stronger, more community-focused event should replace it.

So, they changed the event into something that the SCA believed would unite the community more: a Spikeball tournament and field day. This new event on Saturday, Sept. 18 included courtesy food trucks, cornhole, badminton, and of course, Spikeball, and allowed for more bonding between different grade levels. “The Spikeball tournament was a huge success … it brought together the different grades and definitely was a great way to kick off the school year,” said senior class president Ian Quindoza (‘22). The event went off without a hitch, and it is now here to stay. However, the SCA’s main focus has now turned to plan events like Oddball and Homecoming, the two dances of the first semester. 

Spikeball. Photo credit: Jack Hill.

Traditionally, Oddball is seen as a Halloween dance and has been in Centennial Hall, while Homecoming is the more formal of the two, and has taken place in McFall Hall. Oddball is more commonly attended by groups of friends, and encourages costumes, as prizes are given for the best group costumes. Homecoming, on the other hand, has a stricter, more formal dress code and has its own theme, and traditionally is attended by couples. Usually, it is the SCA’s job to set up, decorate, and clean both dance areas, but circumstances are different this year. As of right now, Oddball will be taking place under a large tent outside, with masks on, on Saturday, Oct. 16. Homecoming’s restrictions are unsure, but more information will be provided as the dance, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6, gets closer.

While much of the SCA’s focus lies in planning events, there is also a strong emphasis on attending extracurricular events, such as the creation of the game of the week. This new program involves highlighting a certain home performance every week, in order to draw greater crowds of students. Although sports such as football or basketball usually draw a greater crowd, other events, such as concerts, will be featured as well. “The student section is such a great way to come together as a school. One of our goals is to bring that to every sport … we really want to spread that energy to everything… ensembles and play performances” Pace emphasized.

The student section at the varsity football game at Trinity Episcopal School on Saturday, Sept. 11. Photo credit: Sarah Kennon.

Many students believe in the goals that have been laid out by the student government. Two senior leaders of the student cheering section, John Wootton (‘22) and Phillip Clarke (‘22), want the student body to realize the importance of supporting their fellow classmates. “It’s all about Cougars supporting Cougars … people feed off our energy,” said Clarke. “Coming together as a school to support each other is a great way to build the community,” added Wootton. To the SCA and the student body, this year is viewed as an amazing way to create an exciting environment that people will love to be in, and unite the school. While the SCA plans the events, it is truly up to the students, especially the senior class, to build a culture that will last.