This year, the Associated Student Body (ASB) and administration have been working tirelessly to increase school spirit at Westridge through a grade-level spirit competition, a greater emphasis on athletics and other events, and the inclusion of middle and lower school students in spirit activities. The desire for more spirit at Westridge isn’t new, but this year, ASB and administration are following through on their promises.

ASB worked alongside the Administrative Assistant to the Upper School and Adult Coordinator of ASB, Ms. Kali Spicer, to introduce a new point system aimed at motivating Upper Schoolers to participate more frequently in activities such as Greek and Roman events, sports games, spirit days, art shows, and more. The points are counted up through a form that students can fill out using their name, grade, Greek or Roman affiliation, and a picture of them participating in the activity. The points will count toward Greek and Roman points and a prize for the winning grade, which is yet to be announced.

The point system was created by 11th Grade Class President Shania W., who promised that support would be a priority when running for the position and stuck with it. “It’s not just about spirit days. It’s about feeling like someone’s there for you,” said Shania. 

As a member of varsity tennis, Shania knew what it felt like to do sports at Westridge, where nobody seemed to care. “[My teammates and I] don’t feel like it matters, because no one’s watching, no one cares. We’re always stuck with this idea that we always lose… so having someone watch you already motivates you to do better as a school,” said Shania.

Layla R. ’27, a member of varsity flag football, has noticed many students taking pictures for the form and an overall increase in students at her games. “I’m really glad we added [the point system], because that will definitely bring more people in. It allows the people outside of the game to be competitive as well,” she said.

To bring further attention to athletics support, ASB is also aiming for more intentional spirit days that coincide with sports events and encourage attendance at games. This means Ms. Spicer has had more work coordinating between different offices to bring together spirit in a more meaningful way. “There’s a lot of collaboration between ASB, our office, and the Athletics Department … I think there’s a really good partnership there,” said Ms. Spicer.

The Tiger Athletics Booster Club, introduced last year, is still going strong on the sidelines. “[The Tiger Athletics Booster Club] really helps bring people in, which improves our spirit,” said Layla. Additionally, raffles for t-shirts and other prizes have been implemented on spirit days for students who show up in theme, which Layla supports as well. “[The raffles are] a pretty good idea to get people engaged … [and] to get people to come to the games,” she said.

Increasing spirit has been a priority of the school this year for many reasons. Dean of Student Activities and Auxiliary Programs Ms. Farrell Heydorff noticed “a big push [for spirit] from everyone from the fourth graders all the way to people that have been here 30 plus years.” Ms. Heydorff continued, “The ultimate goal is for every student to find a place and feel like they belong here. Not that they just belong here, but they’re proud that they belong here.”

For Ms. Spicer, spirit is meant to “remind kids that they’re kids and really, just have fun and forget about college and homework.” And fun is worth all the effort of planning spirit events to Ms. Spicer. “It’s so much work for this short amount of time, but there’s magic that happens in that short amount of time, especially for the all-school assemblies,” she said. 

Westridge has also been prioritizing spirit so that students will take advantage of all that the school offers. “We kind of have this culture of deeming something already lame or boring, [and] not really trying to explore things that are available on campus, like going to art shows, plays, [and] sports games,” said Shania. “And I feel like once people actually experience it, they realize it’s something fun.”

The specific movement towards increasing the support of athletics is especially important in today’s climate. “We want to make sure that we are joining in the crusade to put women’s voices first, not sports first, rather than sitting in the background and just watching it,” said Ms. Heydorff. Ms. Spicer echoed, “With the world and just like the climate being so frustrating and hard, I think sometimes there is some guilt of having joy, but I think it’s really important.”

The effort to increase spirit even extends to the Lower and Middle School. This year, middle and lower schoolers can participate in more spirit days, there is a sign-up sheet for middle schoolers to attend sports games after school, and Middle School gained an athletics representative for the first time. “Lower School has always probably been the most spirited on campus …and so now feeling like they actually have a place, …they’re loving it,” said Ms. Heydorff.

Now that middle schoolers can attend more sports games, seventh and eighth-grade teams have started staying after their own games to support each other more often. “[This support] was something I haven’t seen as I’ve been coaching here for the twelve years that I’ve been here, and this was the first time I really saw the middle school supporting middle school,” said Ms. Heydorff.

Seventh grader Naomi D. attended a recent volleyball game using the new sign-up sheet. “I really like it because…I can support my friends,” she said.

Ms. Heydorff hopes that increased spirit will drive forward Westridge pride. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a theater person, a sports person, arts person, or just a person person, you’re a Westridge person, and that is what I want to accomplish,” she concluded.