New school year, new students, and new feelings.

The first week of school kicked off with a spirit week planned out by the Student Government Association over the summer. In my previous three years of high school, students were met with the same old first week of school. Underclassmen would observe all the seniors in their decorated crowns, dreaming about the day when it is their turn to wear theirs. After the first day, students would force themselves to finish up the week with nothing exciting or spectacular to anticipate until homecoming week. It was a bore and repetitive. Each year, I expected the same thing and the excitement for my first day in each grade died down. That is until this year.

To my surprise and liking, Santaluces has stepped up their game with the help of SGA’s new members and sponsor introduced a week packed with spirit. Starting with the tradition of seniors wearing their crowns on the first day back to other activities during lunch such as writing your goals on a chalkboard on Tuesday, matching your teacher’s high school pictures to their names for Wayback Wednesday, and club rush on Thursday. This all led to the event that everyone was looking most forward to: the pep rally.

It was a boisterous week filled with laughter and memories. If the school year continues to live up to the first memorable week, I’d look forward to every school day of my senior year. A school that makes you feel included and involved either makes or breaks your high school experience.

I can already feel the shift of school spirit in the air.