Each year spirit week concludes with one of the best events of the entire year: Color Day. After a scheduled day of shortened classes, students and staff gather together in the new gym to cheer each other on and support one another in each activity. From mania musical dots to the pie-eating contest, KHS radiates with spirit. 

The Student Council Executive Board is the driving force behind all of the activities during Spirit Week; it is almost entirely student-run. Vice-President Riley Darlington says, “The executive board does a lot of planning; to make the workload lighter, we divide it among everyone.”

Many of the Color Day events stay relatively the same from year to year, but sometimes there are small changes. Executive Board President Jordan Doty says, “For example, a recent change was musical dots because it was more efficient compared to musical chairs.”

It is important for Color Day to be scheduled fittingly so that students can get the chance to participate in their favorite events. Doty says, “There is a lot of planning that goes on with organizing participants and materials while staying on a strict time schedule during the event.”

The large number of events in such a short period of time allows students to participate in a multitude of activities. Student Council Advisor Hannah Sappio says, “Some of my favorite events are the ball toss, knockout, and pie-eating is the best.”

Students typically engage in activities they know they are good at. Senior Grace Mougalian says, “I am participating in the wheelbarrow and relay races because those are what I’m best at.”

With students applying their unique skills, there is a competitive spirit that pushes students to give it their all. Mougalian says, “I love the competition between the grades and the competitive spirit overall. I want us to win every single event this year because it is our last one.”

One of the most stressful parts is getting people involved and getting all the events filled up with people, even for the seniors. Darlington says, “The underclassmen are sometimes hesitant to participate and it has been a little difficult even getting some of the seniors involved.”

Despite the unsureness to be involved, it is important for the seniors to embrace their final year of high school. Senior Jianna Sartorio says, “Because of COVID-19, we did not get to have a traditional spirit week or Color Day our freshman year. I didn’t think I would care that much then, but looking back I wish we could have done it one more year.” 

Throughout the school year, seniors have multiple events that are dedicated to being together one last time. Nevertheless, it continues to be one of the most memorable days that they can look back on. Doty says, “Our grade has grown to love Spirit Week so much, especially not having one during our freshman year. It is such a great opportunity to make memories with each other before we all go away.”

Even though it is their final year, seniors hope to leave an impact on the underclassmen and the future high school students. Doty says, “I hope the other grades take away the seniors’ spirit and love for the school into future spirit weeks.”

While it is both an exhilarating and bittersweet day, it serves as a reminder for the other grades to feel the excitement to the fullest. Darlington says, “I hope that they [the other grades] do not take it for granted, because I wish I could go back in time and restart all of my spirit weeks. It makes me sad to know that this is the last one and that we will never do any of this again as a class.”