It’s Spirit Week at Hopkinton High, and excitement is running high among both students and faculty for our annual pep rally this Friday – which also happens to be our first in over two years.

The pep rally is a longtime Hopkinton tradition, giving the school community an opportunity to celebrate school pride and have a fun time with music and games between all four grades.

“It’s such a fun tradition here at HHS,” Principal Evan Bishop said. “It’s exciting to be a part of it each year.”

Although it usually takes place in the gym, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s pep rally will take place outside on the football field during last period.

It’s a major school event, and as such requires a lot of planning and collaboration by the school administration and student council.

Manoli Barris, Student President of the Class of 2022 and a leading member of the Student Council, is especially motivated to deliver a great pep rally this year to make up for the absence of one last year due to the pandemic.

“I think there’s going to be a really interesting dynamic this year, considering the outdoor aspect. I am excited to see how it will play out,” Barris said. “It will also be interesting since both underclassmen grades have never experienced a pep rally. The seniors should be loud as usual, so hopefully, the underclassmen will catch on.”

As per tradition, the pep rally is a culmination of a weeklong school-wide event known as Spirit Week. Each day of the week has a different themed outfit for students of all grades to wear.

The themes vary every year, but Friday is always the same – Hiller pride!

Both students and teachers say they are thrilled with the participation that they’ve seen so far on campus.

“I think spirit week has been awesome this year,” history teacher Brian Prescott said. “Usually, we see participation from juniors and seniors and less from the younger grades. However, I think this year has been some of the best school-wide participation that we have seen in a long time. That’s a testament to the great school culture that we have here at HHS.”

Prescott also supervises the student council and is managing the annual Penny Wars competition this week.

Along with the usual attractions such as tug of war, the cheerleading routine, and of course the ear-shattering noise competition, this year’s pep rally will include a new addition thanks to the outdoor setting, according to Prescott.

“We will be doing relay races since we have the track available to us,” Prescott said. “I think that will be really fun since it is something different than [what] we have normally done inside the athletic center.”

Overall, it seems as though the school is more than excited to be all back on campus together and is eager to make up for lost time and celebration after the bizarre 2020-2021 school year.

“It’s been so nice to see all the spirit in the hallways, penny wars, et cetera,” Bishop said. “[It] feels normal again!”