PACT Homecoming Surprises Newbs, and Shows Promise to Vets

“I skipped that week at Coon Rapids entirely because I couldn’t give a rip... I don’t know, it was poorly attended and lame. I am pretty sure they had a dance, but I didn’t attend it. However, PACT’s homecoming was totally fun, because of the people. PACT students are just all about fun (at the dance), they didn’t care about rep, etc.”

Anonymous is a new Sophomore here at PACT, and he has already bought into what makes PACT a great place to be. For him, it was easy to notice, after only a few weeks, how welcoming and fun-loving PACT students are. However, students who have been at PACT for a long time, have some different opinions from Anonymous - why might that be?

PACT Charter School, in an effort to increase school spirit, hosted a series of events and activities during homecoming 2016. The activities and events had mixed participation, but new students were impressed PACT’s homecoming participation.

“It went well. [The spirit days] went well with the das that we chose. Others years it hasn’t been as good [participation],” said Jordan DeRosa, 11th grade class representative on Student Council. Jordan went on to say, “The spirit days were much easier to participate in this year because we chose days they could dress up for.”

“Teachers definitely got into it a little more than students this year. However, as I said the days were chosen to fit student interests and outfits. I mean, just look at camo day…,” said DeRosa. The school could have been mistaken for a Cabella’s fashion show, or a hunting expo on campo day. Is this because kids in Ramsey like to hunt, or the result of school spirit and pride?

Not only was spirit week relatively well-participated in, but the dance as well. “I was in charge of tickets, and we had over 100 people this year,” said DeRosa. “In years’ past it hasn’t been nearly as well attended.” DeRosa noticed the difference in attendance between this year’s dance and previous years. In a traditional homecoming experience, the dance is usually the culminating event that everyone looks forward too.

However, as DeRosa pointed out, the dance hasn’t been this well attended in the past. In speaking with other students, some of the contributing factors were: DJ selection, music, and ticket price. However, a student who would like to remain anonymous said, “in the past eh upperclassman never got into it, so we didn’t either. However, this year people just wanted to have fun - the upperclassmen were talking it up and so the young HS kids wanted to be there.”

PACT’s homecoming had a lot of great opportunities for school pride and participation to show school spirit. During the 5 day school week, there was a spirit day dress up competition. Monday was favorite team day, Tuesday was camo day, Wednesday was character day, Thursday formal day, and Friday was PACT Pride day (of course). These spirit days were well attended by both students and staff. School spirit was in full force on Tuesday and Friday.

On top of all of the spirit week dress up days, PACT homecoming also included sporting events. The varsity girls soccer, boys soccer, and girls volleyball all had games. To read about these games, see the Panther Pride section of the newspaper. The soccer games were well attended by parents, but not by students. When I asked Aliyah, she said “it was right before the dance, so I don’t think anyone wanted to get dirty right before the big dance” Aliyah is a Sophomore at PACT, who also writes for the newspaper.

Speaking of the dance, it was one of the best years of attendance - so what was different? “This year we got to pick songs! We never got to do that before - but also the DJ was born in this century, so that definitely helped,” said Anonymous. “I know people I went with said this was a rarity, that normally the DJ picks all the songs, and they usually aren’t the popular ones.”

“I think our promotion definitely helped. We really pushed the idea of having fun, without worrying about things like: dancing style, reputation, etc. But obviously the ticket price helped - they were cheaper this year,” said DeRosa. “Another thing was the 9th grade class - they were out in full force. We also had snacks/food along the sides of the dance, and I think that was another contributing factor.”

PACT homecoming contains both traditional homecoming experience, and also things unique to PACT. For example, at the dance there was a photo booth this time around. A traditional element was the end of the week assembly. PACT’s assembly this year was enthusiastic and rochus. “This year we had the band play - and you played the drums - which no one expected. So I think that made for an interesting assembly,” said DeRosa when asked about this year’s assembly.

“I thought the lightening competition was a great addition - even though the teachers cheated!” Bennett Olson, Junior PACT student, and soccer captain was in attendance at the assembly. Bennett, and a few other students competed against the new teachers in a game of lightning. The teachers won, but students are still “salty” over the playing style of the teachers.

“Thompson totally cheated. My ball bounced off the rim toward him, and he bounced it right out of the way,” Bennett said. The rules were loose, the pace was fast, but it the competition was a highlight to the assembly. “It was all in good fun,” said Bennett referring to the cheating teachers. “I knew that would be the only way they could win.” DeRosa agreed that it was a good addition, “we’ve had them before - but it wasn’t as intense. This year the teachers, students, and crowd all really got into it.”

Homecoming traditions often include a competition at the assembly. However, most of the time it ends up being a student vs student competition. For example, across the river at Rogers Senior High, the varsity girls soccer and volleyball team, went up against the boys football and soccer teams in a volleyball match. Although interesting, the students lost interest rather quickly - it was missing that element that PACT has to offer. That “small” / family atmosphere, where teachers and students can get a little silly/crazy together, all in the name of fun and school spirit.

Talking with students informally at PACT, you might hear some negative stigmas about homecoming: “It’s the same every year.” “The elementary always out-does the secondary for dress up days.” “The dance is lame.” However, this year there was great attendance and participation in all events. Could it have been better? Sure, but nothing’s perfect. So what made this year’s different?

“I think it comes down to willingness. Students need to be willing to show pride and participate in school events,” said Jordan DeRosa. If that is the case, the number of willing students is growing at PACT. This is a sign of positive things to come. Some may argue it’s simply the younger students being new to the secondary, but pride is growing at PACT.

“I don’t know anything about the past at PACT besides what I’ve heard,” said Anonymous. “However, I like what I am seeing right now.” Anonymous is new to PACT, and has no preconceived notions of the way things are. All he has is a bad taste left over from the big schools like Coon Rapids where he had been attending. If a student can come in, and immediately notice a difference in feel, culture, vibe, and student body personality - that says a lot about the positives things happening at PACT.

There are a lot of ways to show school spirit, and like the giving spirit we see during the holidays, it doesn’t have to happen just once a year. Think about small ways you can show pride in PACT - pride to be a panther. Attend sporting events, emphasize the positives of PACT in your online profile, provide a welcoming presence for new students - it doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be sincere.

Regardless of how long you’ve been at PACT, or what things “used to be like,” there are clearly positive people doing positive things at PACT. School spirit and pride falls upon the students to promote and maintain. If you want a great school, and to enjoy time here, than YOU are the one making it happen. Don’t dwell in the past, or succumb to the opinions of a few people, move forward with a positive mindset and pride in PACT!