“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

In a frenzy of tornadoes, rainbows, and crows, BISV’s 2023 Spirit Week kicked off with a whirlwind of witches. Aspects of the timeless classic, The Wizard of Oz, found their way into the days leading up to our high school’s Homecoming (Hoco). Thanks to the guidance of the yellow brick road, we’ve embarked on a spectacular journey with each day bringing about a different theme. From dressing up as animals to getting ready for Homecoming, the BISV staff have done their best to make this year’s Spirit Week and Hoco the most magical yet. Join us as we journey through the various events of this marvelous week!

Day 1: Which Witch is Which?

Spirit Week started off with the theme that never gets old—twins! Despite the stark comparison in the Wizard of Oz, Monday’s theme of “Which Witch is Which?” encouraged students and staff alike to twin with one another.  The hallways were filled with students wearing matching attire. Of course, there were the usual inseparable pairs showing off their similar clothing, but, more impressively, The Quill saw eight Mr. Meyerowitz’s running around! However, the day had more excitement in store. In the afternoon, we had our high school carnival with a range of activities for students to enjoy. Our Bobcats got to chow down on delicious shaved ice, ice cream tacos, and cotton candy, all while participating in trying to dunk their own teachers! One particular teacher atop the dunk tank platform had some select comments to say about our students:  “I hope that some of you have recovered from your humiliating piece of dunk tank masterpiece theater. The folks aboard the Titanic should have been as lucky as me,” and “Based on my very dry experience atop the dunk tank, I can confirm that the “T” in STEM does not stand for ‘Throwing.’” 

Day 2: Lions, Tigers, Bobcats and Bears, Oh My!

For the second day, our theme was: Dress up as your favorite animal! Onesies or headbands were a popular choice for students as they flexed their Bobcat pride with a variety of animals ranging from sharks to tigers. This made way for BISV to resemble a fun zoo for the day. Tuesday was also our student vs. staff volleyball game, in which both sides played ferociously. Record-keeping was spotty, but allegedly, the staff won a majority of the games.

Day 3: There’s a Storm Coming!

While everyone dressed up for Day 3 of Spirit Week, a tornado blew past BISV and, unfortunately, wiped out all of our colors, leaving us with only gray, black, and white. Still, storm pride was raging all over our homey building (The Quill was an eyewitness). And the best part: food trucks! Food trucks, a long-standing tradition of BISV, had students enjoying delicacies like boba and fried chicken waffles. The newest addition to our usual rounds of food trucks were bubble waffles, ranging from savory to sweet, and saliva-inducing all the same.

Day 4: A World of Color

The day after the storm was filled with color! Vibrant socks, skirts, and headbands could be seen throughout the hallways, and even the white and red walls of BISV seemed to glow a bit more. To those who didn’t have colorful clothing, worry not, as tie-dye saves the day! During lunch, a tie-dye station helped students tie-dye their not-so-colorful clothing to fit the theme. From socks to sweaters, a true world of color was created.

Day 5: BOBCATS GO!!! 

Spirit Week concludes with our annual BISV Spirit Day, where everyone threw on a piece of BISV merch to boast their Bobcat pride. From hall to hall, one would notice the >< logo everywhere, like a zombie invasion of BISV swag. Seeing all the BISV merch truly reminded me of home (almost as if it’s truly Homecoming week), and to top off our events, our pep rally was also on Friday! Led by our Associate Student Board, the pep rally displayed many events, from games that pitted grade against grade and teacher against student, to performances. High schoolers enjoyed minigame-focused relay races and hula-hoop circles, whilst our middle schoolers played tug-of-war to decide the strongest grade. Our Bollywood dance team also made their first performance of the year that day, shaking up the gym and brightening everyone’s day!

The real finale of Spirit Week, though, was our Emerald City Homecoming Dance on Saturday. Students showed up in a myriad of dresses and suits, all while enjoying pizza, Oreos, and grapes. A personal note from The Quill to BISV: please make mint Oreos a tradition :D. Whether it was at the photo booth making memories with friends, or in the mosh pit shouting lyrics to songs, our students certainly enjoyed their first dance of the year. Here are some words from our fellow Bobcats about the dance:

“It was pretty fun. The food was good…kind of. It was quite loud but at least I saw Ms. Miller dancing”

-Jack Z.

“It was amazing. It was very dark and very loud. There were green Oreos which was nice.”

-Anonymous 10th Grader 

“It was so fun. The pizza was musty but I had a really good time. There was a huge dance circle and flashing lights”

-Rachel K.

“Honestly I don’t know. It was fun even though the food tasted kinda meh. The music was alright and I had a good time with my friends”

-Eddie M.

“It was a Homecoming. It was an experience. I experienced it”

-Aindra T.

“Everyone was so single that they had to create a mosh pit during the slow songs. I really liked the DJ.”

-Twisha K.

“The DJ was better than last time and I had a great time with people. Seeing teachers dance with us was definitely one of the highlights of Hoco.”

-Alina H.

As a proud Bobcat, I can’t wait for the next Spirit Week and Hoco theme. No matter how much we Bobcats complain about BISV, in the end, Spirit Week is a reminder that once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat. 

After all, “There’s no place like home.”