Issue 5 spirit week

ROARThe

Wild

cat

www.thewildcatroar.com

2514SPIRITWEEK

Volume XI | Issue 5 | Spirit Week 2014 | Westminster Christian Academy

2 |THEWILDCATROAR.COM| SPIRIT WEEK25

Whats Inside

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Seniors..............................................4Games.............................................5

Lip Sync.......................................12-13

Boys Poms....................................10-11

Dress Up Days...................................8-9

Blue Man Stomp.............................6-7

Art Board..........................................14Film Project......................................14Athlete of the Week.........................14

Friday Night Basketball....................3Community Night...........................325th Anniversary of SW....................3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Historyof Spirit Week

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Editors in Chief: Morgan Koetting and Jill CoynePrint Editor: Eichel DavisDesign Editor: Scott RupprechetEntertainment Editor: Catherine BakewellSports Editor: Reed MontgomeryFeature Editor: Mary WynnOpinions Editor: Chrissy TalentNews Editor: Megan Galvin

Business Manager: Christian LinhoffOnline Editors: Maggi Eachus and Audrey O’NeillBroadcasting Manager: John PottebaumStaff Writers:Austin BenefieldBecca EisElisabeth Harding

With hundreds of outside non-student viewers, no other Spirit Week function is anticipated as much as Community Night. On Thursday, every section of the theater was claimed by each grade’s Boys Poms, Lip Sync, and Blue Man Stomp. Some Blue Man Stomp and Boys Poms groups view this as a more relaxed production. However, many of the Lip Sync participa-tants take Community Night as just a practice for the final, scored performance viewed by the whole student body on Friday. For the seventh grade Lip Sync, it is their first time to make a first impres-sion. Yet, for the senior Lip Sync, it is their very last time to make an impression. The nostalgia of ending high school often adds pressure to be flawless and excel above all others as the eldest and most experienced class. “We see it as both a practice and a legitimate performance because we know that the judges are in the stands watching. We need to continually be cautious,” said Abby Nixon, senior. Whether Community Night is seen as just a practice or as a legitimate performance, it is an opportunity for students to show off their hard work.

A full capacity crowd of over 1,000 fans packed the Arena Friday night to see the Varsity Men’s basketball team take on John Burroughs. The gym buzzed with excitement to see the most popular home basketball game of the year and the con-clusion to Spirit Week. The Varsity Dance Team debuted their highly anticipated Hip-Hop routine at half-time, the pep-band played all night, the Cheerleaders kept the energy up and performed at half-time, and the Blue Crew was in full force providing a rowdy atmosphere. In the opening seconds of the game Shane Benes, senior, gave the Wildcats the lead with a quick dunk, followed up by an alley-oop layup. The Cats were dominating early on as Benes and Collin Einertson, senior, led the attack to jump out to an early first quarter lead. The offense did not show any signs of slowing as Brett Bond, senior, and Matt Weber, junior, added to the rout of the Bombers. Going into the half, Westminster held onto a comfortable double digit lead. Patterns repeated for the Cats with another strong quarter, but the night’s big-gest event came with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter. Ronald Smith of John Burroughs jumped for a follow up dunk but ended up experiencing an injury that left the entire Arena in shock. Silence fell over the crowd as he was attended to by paramed-ics. Smith was released from the hospital the next day and is expected to make a full recovery. The referees reported to a somber crowd that the rest of the game would not be completed and Todd Zell, Athletic Director, postponed the Spirit Week related events. The game ended with a final score of 64-41 and a Wildcat victory.

First Impressions

Did you know that Spirit Week started in 1989? Did you know that ITSOG points used to contribute to the winner of Spirit Week?Over the last 25 years Spirit Week has grown and changed, but the core intentions set by the founders have remained the same. In 1989, Florence Lewis, former teacher and founder of Spirit Week, saw a hole in WCA’s schedule. “It was considered the longest drag of the school year. It was after Christmas break, and Spring Break was far off,” said Dr. Scott Holley, academic dean. When Spirit Week first started, it was called Wildcat Pride Week. Lip Sync has always been the big event held last. Boys Poms, however, was not always the big deal it is now. Originally, it was a silly performance that was meant to bring laughs. Then came Justin Derusso. Derusso came up as freshmen and changed Poms forever. He made it a large spectacle, and his class won the contest 4 years in a row. Derusso also spawned many of rules we have today, such as no large objects, and no smoke machines. But it wasn’t until 3 years later that the great Hallway Decorations were introduced. In 1992, the senior class got into the Spirit Week mood by decorating their hallway. Mrs. Lewis then introduced it as a school wide contest. After five years, Spirit Week had grown into the biggest event WCA hosted, and the Spirit Month we know today, was actually a Spirit Two Months. “Everyone would start working over Christmas Break,” said Tim Hall, dean of students. Over time, it became apparent that a new big event needed to be introduced, and the Spirit Committee dreamt up Blue Man Stomp. Blue Man is only in its 9th year, but many current students see it as staple. Now, in 2014, 25 years later, we have many of the same events. We still have Lip Sync, Blue Man, and Boys Poms. We do not have Hallways and Floats, but we do have Film Projects and Art Boards. And it is certain that Spirit Week will change and morph as the years go on. But at its heart, it will still be a week of fun and community.

25 Years of spirit

25Wildcat Roar Staff|2013-2014

Mary Heyl Cate HoogstratenJuhyae KimAshley KleinAndrew MontgomeryBria PaxtonLauren RamosJake SchroederKatherine Yenzer

by elisabeth hardingFriday Night Basketballby austin benefield

by eichel davis


First Place

caption

The doors were opened and students poured into the Arena, their faces full of won-der and excitement, no longer wearing their tired Monday masks. Many wore comfy pajamas, celebrating Pajama Day, Cuddle Up Day, and Sleep Appreciation Day, adding to the temptation to sleep in class. Oth-ers dressed like animals to celebrate days such as Penguin Appreciation Day, Panda Day, and Dance Like a Chicken Day. They rushed to get the best seat to cheer on their classmates. All un-derclassmen were seat-ed, anxiously awaiting. Then finally, the seniors arrived in all their proud splendor, strutting across the gym floor with Katy Perry’s “Roar” blaring loudly in the background. They marched proudly to their spots. Spirit Week 2014 had begun!

FIRST PLACE SENIORS

by becca eis

The Wildcats’last ‘Roar’

Games

Battle of the Classes

by jake schroeder With more than a thou-sand pounds of people pulling one way and another thousand pounds pulling the other, it’s a stretch to say any other Spirit Week game de-mands more from its partici-pants than Tug-of-War. On the guys’ side, the se-niors pulled off a win in a tight contest. Senior Grant Kitch-ens was allowed to pull, pro-viding his team with needed mental support. On the girls’

side, the juniors pulled off a stunning victory against the favored senior girls. The sophomore class placed third in both the girls and guys pull.

Many students think it’s simply pulling a rope. However, Tug-of-War not only demands much physical strength, but mental strength as well. “When the whole grade was crowded around us, there was pressure. I felt like it was all on me, even though it was a team effort,” said Wyatt Malcolm, sophomore and tug of war participant. However, straight up brawn does not bring victory in Tug-of-War for a grade. It also requires good tactics. Most grades have the front seven pulling, with the last

man facing back and try-ing to walk. Yet, many teams use the original ver-sion, with all eight people pulling.

GAMES


Blue Man Stomp

2014

Classes always en-courage their strongest students to compete in Tug-of-War during Spirit Week, and this year’s se-nior class was particularly selective in choosing who would participate. Little did they realize what a controversy this would create. Grant Kitchens, senior, signed up to par-ticipate in Tug of War, but he didn’t make the cut. In response, Kitchens and his supporters marched around the school with signs demanding to “Let Grant Pull” and trended #LetGrantPull on Twitter. After days of cam-paigning, Kitchens finally snagged a spot on the rope. Thanks to him, the seniors boys triumphantly defeated the junior boys in the end.

Kitchens pulling in Tug of War against the junior boys.

#LETGRANTPULL

FIRST PLACE SOPHOMORES

SECOND PLACE|SENIORS

THIRD PLACE |8TH GRADE

by juhyae kim

A Toss-Up

SECOND PLACE|SENIORS

THIRD PLACE |8TH GRADE

FIFTH PLACE |JUNIORS

FOURTH PLACE |7TH GRADE

Once again the class of 2016 dominated the Blue Man Stomp competition. The seniors put up a tough fight with their throwback performance, which high-lighted their Blue Man Stomp routines from their past. However, the creativity and musicality of the sophomores made them stand apart.They travelled through time from cowboys to present day by a gold time machine to tell the story. The work payed off for the sophomores to rise above the seniors. The freshman failed to have a Blue Man Stomp performance to com-pete against the others giving other classes an advantage.

by lauren ramos


Dress Up Days

Dressing it upby mary heyl

Life is funny, or punny as Tuesday’s dress ups proved. Students filed into school with punny outfits, visualizing phrases and puns such as Dust Bunny, Heart on Your Sleeve, Third Wheel, Just Dill With It, Gand Green, and Candy Wrapper. The day proceeded with chuckles and knowing smiles as everyone observed each other’s fabulous outfits. The competition for dress up between the classes was high. The scores resulted in seventh grade in sixth, freshmen in fifth, eighth grade in fourth, se-niors in third, sophomores in second, and juniors in first.

theHostsby megan galvin

On Monday, Warren Smith and Chris Knerr, upper school teachers dressed up as Bert and Ernie, painting themselves orange and yellow and wear-ing big red noses. Tuesday, the two made an entrance to the Chariots of Fire theme song. While filming their entrance, Smith blew out his knee and now needs surgery. “I signed up for hosting and I couldn’t wimp out. I have to follow through and fulfill what I think is my purpose for living,” said Smith. The hosts decked them-selves out in glow sticks on Wednesday. For Thursday, Knerr dressed as Gru, from Despicable Me, bringing along his 4 year old son as his minion. Smith dressed as Dr. Nefario, and to execute his character perfectly, he shaved his head. “I believe you either go big or go home,” said Smith. For their grand finale, Knerr dressed as Captain Von Trapp with Mallory Scholten, up-per school science teacher, as Maria Von Trapp. The two were singing “Edelweiss” when Smith, dressed as a bum from the movie Animal House, inter-rupted and smashed Knerr’s guitar to smithereens. “Hosting spirit week is a lot of fun, but there is also incredible danger as was shown when my colleague blew out his knee; it is not something you take lightly,” said Knerr.

Dress

25

Turn Down for What! by bria paxtonHolding equal parts school spirit and sentimental reminiscing made for an interesting combina-tion. I love dressing up for the different theme days (PJ day, high school stereotype day, twin day, class color day, spirit day) and going full out. I wish every week was spirit week!But the week was also spent trying to figure out what to do for the pep rally. As a high school student At Westminster, prepar-ing for the pep rally and for spirit week was easy.But two weeks before Spirit Week, everyone is excited. Girls are usually planning on what they are going to wear, and guys usually just wait for the fun. Regular classes began on Mon-day with a bit of a twist. The first day was ``obscure holiday.’’ Ev-eryone was excited to not wear their uniforms and to see what people were wearing. Students were invited to wear any clothing that represented a holiday that no one knows about. . January 3rd is national sleep day and a lot of my friends were dressed up in pajamas and had blan-kets. September 20th is national punch your neighbor day. I saw a student who wore regular clothes and had boxing gloves. Friday was the final and most antici-pated day of the week and it was Blue and white day (our school colors). Everyone was excited to wear their hats, tutus and face paint. But alas, spirit week was over and all of the students were forced to wash or to take off blue and white, give our voices a break from all the cheering and return to business as usual.

UPD

AYS 2014


Boys Poms

POMSAs selected by the WILDCAT ROAR staff

@kkuuippeerrStomach flu during my senior year spirit week?

Awesome

Anna Kuiper

TWITT

@Voltron_GYou can say no to the few. But you cant say no to the

many. #LetGrantPull

Grant Kitchens

@momo_grimLast Day of my last spirit week as a student at West-minster starting NOW! #spirit-

week2k14 #seniors2014

Morgan Grim

@rachellrainesAt least 5 ppl have asked me what the “WCA” on my head-band stands for.... Westminster Christian Academy duh. #wild-

catpride #highschoolprobs

Rachel Raines

@Hannah_Marget@_NOTJoAnne_ and I Should Never be allowed out of the house together.

60 dollars at Walmart...#SpiritweekhereWeCome

Hannah

@EliseCeleste20Homework? Never

heard of it... #Spirit-Week2014 #wcap-

roblemsElise Burton

BOYS

2014SPirit week

edition

2014 brought the story back to Boys Poms. With a couple of minions, a team of baseball players, and a bun-dle of toddlers, PoMs was not only about the moves, but the story behind them.

1st

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

SENIORS

FRESHMEN

7TH GRADE

SOHPOMORES

JUNIORS

Senior girls quickly pass their carpet square down the line.

Classes Battle it out on the Lava

the stands are silent with antipation. It’s Thursday, and it is time for Boys Poms. the sophomores hopes are high, and the seniors wait with worry. During Spirit Week, winning games is great, but everything comes down to the three big events: Blue Man Stomp, Boys Poms, and Lip Sync. Wednesday the sophomores left everyone in awe with their Blue Man performance. “There’s always a pressure for Boys Poms to be great because our Blue Man is always really well done,” said Sinclaire Davis, sophomore who helped choreograph the dance. the long awaited performance was playful and completely in sync. the baseball themed routine was filled with complicated dance moves and great song choices. the seniors wowed the crowd with a baby themed routine that included several lifts and flips. The juniors went with a Christmas themed performance that brought laughs and Christ-mas joy. the freshman found inspiration from the movie Despicable Me and dressed up as minions. Lastly, the seventh grade chose the Lion King and received cheers and smiles from the crowd. All around this year the sopho-mores proved they were wor-thy competitors in the race for the Spirit Week trophy.

Going for Gold?

25

twelve students from each grade come forth to partake in the classic “Floor Is Lava” game. For some, it is their first time playing this game, for others, they are experi-enced and ready to go. the students walk up to their positions, six on each side of the court. As the whistle blows and the classmates cheer, the boys from each grade quickly start off throw-ing down the first square. each team rushes to get the squares to the front of the line. At half court, the juniors are in the lead while the other grades are neck and neck. Due to inexperience, the 7th grade is struggling to keep up. Exchanging the squares to the girls for the final stretch, the juniors take the lead, with the seniors right behind them. As each grade is fighting hard near the end of the race, the seniors ad-vance past the others, while the 10th and 11th grade are right beside each other, and 9th-7th grade have fallen behind. The race finishes and the final results give first place to the seniors, second for sophomores, third for ju-niors, fourth for eighth grade, fifth for the freshman, and last for the seventh graders.

1st

5th

FRESHMEN

by: andrew montgomeryby: katherine yenzer

the Sophomores show that they do dance in their baseball themed POMS.


Lip Sync

lip

syn

c 2

014

ThisyearwasmyfirsttimeparticipatinginaSpiritWeekevent.I’veneverhadtheinteresttoparticipateinBlueMan,ArtBoard,orLipSync,butthisyear,IdecidedtotakealittleleapoffaithandjoinLipSync. I’mnotsurewhatIwasexpecting.IjustknewthatIcouldn’tdanceandthatlipsyncinvolvedalotofdancing. Butthedancewassimple,andthesong,“WakeMeUpBeforeYouGo-Go”,wasreallyupbeatandfun.Tomysur-prise,Icoulddothedanceandactuallyenjoyedit. Itwasexhausting,too.Havingschool,Robotics,andLipSyncsuckedalltheenergyoutofme.BylastFriday,myentirebodyached,andmylegscouldbarelysupportme. ButIhadalotoffun.Seeingtheroutinecometogetherwasawesome.IhadthechancetoworkwithandsocializewithalotofpeopleInormallynevertalkto.AndIcan’tlie,I’mveryproudofmyselffornotmessinguptheentirekickline.Ofcourse,gettingsecondwasnice,too. Butthat’snotthepoint.Thepointwas,Ihadfun,andI’mgladIdidit.Imostdefinitelylookingforwardtonextyear’sLipSync.

Totally in Syncby:chrissytalent

25

Abigail

FINAL RESULTS SPIRIT WEEK 2014

Totally in Sync

by:catherinebakewell

With paint, paste, and pomping paper all around, it’s the night that the artists of Westminster anticipate--the night of the Art Board set-up. This final part for Art Boards, dedicated to installation and last-minute touch-ups, lasted from 3-8 PM on Wednesday. This year’s Art Board theme was “Board Games.” Abigail Smith, senior, has worked on Art Boards for the past three years and led the Candy Land Art Board for the Seniors. Her job entailed managing and planning the board’s construction, giving instructions to the other students working on the Board, as well as creat-ing some essential parts. “Painting a [Candy Land] character could take from 3-4 hours. I liked listen-ing to musicals while I worked,” said Smith.

Smith

ARTIST OF THE WEEK

1st....................................SENIORS

5TH................................7TH GRADE

4TH................................FRESHMEN

3RD....................................JUNIORS

2ND............................SOPHOMORES

6TH................................8TH GRADE


Art BoardFilm Projects

2ND SENIORS

3RD

1ST SOPHOMORES

4TH 5TH

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Egan Moylan It’s everyone’s favorite matchup in many peoples’ favorite game. Egan Moylan, junior, stepped onto the basketball court for the final sumo-wres-tling matchup against Nick Zintel, senior. With the junior class behind him, Moylan started off strong as he instantly took control of the matchup with a dizzying hit on Zintel. From there, Moylan went on to to dominate the matchup until Tim Muehleisen, referee, declared him the win-ner. Moylan not only helped his class in the sumo-wrestling competition. He also was the anchor for the junior tug-of-war team that took second place. “Both sumo-wres-tling and tug-of-war were great experienc-es that made this spirit week special for me,” said Moylan.

ART BOARD 2014

FILM

PR

OJE

CTS

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1ST 2ND

4TH3RD

middle school juniorsFreshman

Film Projects

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Issue 5 spirit week