For many, pep assemblies are a way to show school spirit. Usually the Winterfest Pep Assembly tends to be a good way for students to have fun, however this year it felt rushed.

“Students were still getting used to their new schedules and the assembly was so close to the semester break,” Mrs. Sommers, a teacher at Milford, stated, “it wasn’t that surprising that there wasn’t as much participation in spirit week.”

Starting the week off with PJ Day, students came to school in their pajamas. “Pj day was easy for me to participate in without really trying,” Maxine Livermore, a junior, said. The next day was Throwback Character Day, where everyone was allowed to dress up as television characters from the shows that they watched growing up. Gabby Greenshields, a senior, said, “Character day was something fun and different,” she answered, “it was a good change-up.” However there was some confusion with what to wear. Claudia Elasivich, a freshman at Milford said, “I didn’t dress up that day because I was confused about what it meant.” Wednesday was Middle School day, where students wore their middle school spirit wear. Thursday, High School Musical Day, was controversial as the freshman dressed as skater kids, the sophomores dressed like jocks, the juniors dressed as geeks, the seniors dressed like the drama club and the teachers dressed like teachers. Some students felt like it was more of a clique day because each grade dressed up differently. Other students liked dressing up in different groups because it brought back the competitive part of spirit week.

Some of the teachers didn’t like that they were supposed to dress up like teachers, a job that they do daily. In High School Musical the majority of the teachers wore normal looking clothes with the exception of the drama teacher, so there weren’t many options for Milford’s staff. Friday was Mav Day, where students wore Milford spirit wear or shades of red and white. Until last year Friday has always been Class Color Day and for many juniors and seniors the transition to Mav Day wasn’t easy.

The assembly itself lacked the usual enthusiasm. “This one was lackluster,” Livermore stated. “It was kinda boring. Too much but not enough,” she added, “I don’t like how things weren’t rehearsed or organized, like the rap battle.”

This can be attributed to the fact that the Leadership teacher wasn’t there to help the class plan spirit week. “This week wasn’t the most spirited, but its also fell on a tough week.” David Gilbert, the Leadership teacher, stated. “Students were still getting used to their new classes and they weren’t as comfortable.”

“There are going to be some changes for next year, but students also have to want to get out of their comfort zones and dress up.” Gilbert added.

One of the main highlights of the assembly was the staff-versus-students basketball game. Students agreed that it was fun to cheer on the seniors and staff and it was “really funny to watch the teachers and students,” Elasivich added, “It gave me a chance to see teachers and students team up together in other places than just the classroom”.

“Surprisingly, they (the assemblies) do get me pumped up. I just get really hyped and happy.” Livermore added, “I like when they play music at the assemblies, while it isn’t good music, it’s still fun to jump around like an idiot.”