In October of 2021, AITE’s very first School Spirit Committee was born. As the first school year with a return to a “normal” in-person schedule since the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students sought ways to harness more thrill and engagement in the school community.

Spirit Week is a time of fun for both the staff and students. Dedicating fun themes to certain days throughout the week, students are given the opportunity to make their school experience more enjoyable. Some themes include wearing anything but a backpack, ugly sweater day, and dress to impress day. 

The committee was founded by sophomores Shruthi Anandraman, Kira Pyvovar, Zoe Smith, and Victoria Typa. They also have two teacher advisors, science teacher Bing Yang and history teacher Claude Morest. The idea for starting the committee was actually born from some incidents of vandalism that took place earlier this year. “It was all formed after the TikTok bathroom trend came around and a few boys’ bathrooms were vandalized, from which came the idea of decorating the schools to help fixing and avoiding such things, which later turned into the idea of spreading school spirit,” said Pyvovar. “We wanted to see the involvement of our school community,” said Anandraman. The inner workings of the committee involve brainstorming ideas and picking a specific week to have the spirit week. The themes for each day are finalized and are run by Ms. Rivera for her approval. The committee usually meets once a month and plans a spirit week approximately every month.

The ideas for Spirit Week themes largely come from the students and teachers, with the committee simply having an open ear to their opinions. It is important to them that everyone has fun with the themes, and they want as much participation as possible. Knowing how challenging school can be, adding fun days promotes a positive and unified school environment. Students can engage socially and civically, which can ease the stress induced by school. 

Earlier this year, anything but a backpack day had the greatest turnout. “The idea was brought to our attention by a student from our school community. No other day we have done so far has interested the students as much, which was the whole point of our committee,” said Anandraman. Pyvovar felt the same way. “Seeing people with microwaves, coffee makers, and even an unexpected Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man inflatable outfit from Ghostbusters, it was an absolutely great day,” said Pyvovar.

Tatiana Argudo is a sophomore and frequently participates in spirit week. She likes being involved with the school and likes the opportunity to be able to do so. She likes being able “to meet people, start talking to them just because they participated in spirit day,” said Arugdo. Spirit Weeks have brought the AITE community together, and this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the students and teachers of the School Spirit Committee.