Padua Spirit Assembly On Friday November 8, 2013, Padua Academy’s staff and students gathered in the gym for the first Spirit Assembly of the year. Students were allowed to dress down in their class colors. Throughout the day, the school was filled with freshmen in green, sophomores in blue, juniors in red/pink, and seniors in yellow. By the time the Spirit Assembly started, the entire student body was excited for the chance to compete against the other classes in a few games. After having the Student Council lead the school in the Serenity Prayer, the assembly started off with a hula-hoop competition. There was a total of six different games, with two students from each class participating. In the hula-hoop competition there was a total of three rounds. The winners from the first two were to compete in the final round. In both rounds, the freshmen representatives won and faced off in a final round. When Taylor Valletti, the winner of the third round, was asked about being a part of her first Spirit Assembly she responded saying “I thought it was really overwhelming and a fun experience.” The rest of the games went by quickly and the freshmen’s victory was short lived. They won the second game, balloon popping karaoke, but were unable to keep the success going.

Other games included Name That Teacher, Student vs. Teacher Singing Competition, Blindfolded Drawing, and Finish the Lyrics. The entire student body was excited and eager to help their classmates try to win a game. One of the highlights from the Assembly was the last round in the singing competition. Mr. Sheehan and Amy O’Neill had to finish the lyrics to Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel”. When Mr. Sheehan couldn’t figure out the song, he tagged a fellow faculty member, Mrs. Duppel, in and she was able to finish the song before the senior. All throughout the Assembly, the Student Council Executive Members were looking for the most spirited students. Adheena Chacko, freshman, said “All the students were full of excitement and it was just really fun. They were really full of spirit.”

Those students with the most spirit were handed a raffle ticket and entered to win a special prize. This prize was announced at the end of the assembly and two students were drawn from the raffle. The two students picked received a new Padua sweatshirt as a prize for showing school spirit. Before school was dismissed, the cross country and volleyball team were mentioned. Both teams competed in the State Finals that weekend. The Cross Country team ran and were able to win a State Title and the Volleyball team played on Monday, November 11, and beat Tower Hill 3-0 to win a State Title. Students were encouraged to go and support their fellow Padua sisters who competed for a State Title. Every student and teacher in the school left feeling energized and ready for the next Spirit Assembly.