WB 3-8: PENNY WARS AND CHEER OFF

Summary

Hi guys! Honestly, this whole week has been THE MOST stressful week. . . like no joke I'm being so for real. This week is special because we had spirit week, penny wars, relay race, and synchronized swimming. Yeah. Since there was so much to do, it didn't matter what job you did-- if you weren't the one giving dress-out wristbands in the morning and morning recess, then you work whatever. So, Monday was sports day, Tuesday was animal print day, Wednesday was college shirts day, Thursday was Hawaiian day, and finally, Friday was team shirts. To be fair, I didn't expect much that day. Most didn't even dress up the first day, but after that people started dressing up more, yays. Penny wars was fun since everyone was competitive and put lots of money into the jars (I have never seen so much pennies in one jar before). Relay race was also fun because we got to watch the teams play against each other (bro. . . 7-3 sold so badly). Relay race was also very fun, and we got to watch all the teams go against each other to see who can get to the other side first. Unfortunately, team 7-1 did not win because they SOLD at Cornhole, and broke the plank-walking thingy rope so we got disqualified. What the helly guys. There was also scavenger hunt, and seeing different students from different teams run to A101 to show their items was hilarious. Basically, there were 5-6 items the teams needed to get (eighth and seventh grade items were different from each other) and to submit them, they needed to go down to A101 and show Mr. Ing those items. Not gonna lie, I thought my team was gonna lose but guess what? They. . . sort of won. I'm not sure though. Mini activities were amusing because when I got to see the difference between eighth and seventh grade there, I was perplexed. Seventh graders kept laughing and giggling to themselves like-- bronion. . . what's so funny? Meanwhile, eighth graders were just chilling and doing their work as they were supposed to (we also got to watch 8-1 team practice for cheer off and my god, they were loud).

Highlights + Lowlights

Highlights

The Spirit Turnaround - I was honestly a bit worried on Monday when hardly anyone dressed up for sports day, but it was so cool to see the energy shift as the week went on. By the time we hit Hawaiian day and team shirt day, almost everyone was actually participating and getting into the vibe.

The Penny War Chaos - I have never seen that many pennies in my entire life. It was awesome seeing how competitive everyone got, just dumping change into the jars to sabotoge the other teams and keep the momentum going.

The Scavenger Hunt Sprint - Watching everyone lose their minds trying to find those five or six items and then dead-sprinting down to A101 to show Mr. Ing was easily the funniest part of the week. Even though I wasn't sure if we actually pulled off the win, the sheer hustle of my team made me think we actually had a shot.

Lowlights

The Relay Race Disaster - I am still a little salty that team 7-1 got disqualified. We were doing alright until we absolutely sold at Cornhole, and then the plank-walking rope snapping was just the icing on a very frustrating cake.

The Wristband Grind - Since the rule was that anyone not handing out dress-out wristbands during the morning and recess had to do random odd jobs, I felt the stress of being constantly busy. It felt like there was never a moment to just sit back and breathe because there was always another task to jump into.

The Seventh Grade Maturity Gap - Being at the mini-activities was honestly so confusing for me. Watching the seventh graders just giggle at absolutely nothing while us eighth graders were actually trying to be chill and get our work done was a total headache.

Lessons Learned

Adaptability is Key - I realized that when a massive event like Spirit Week is happening, I have to be ready to jump into any role at a moment's notice. Whether it was checking wristbands or handling random tasks, I learned that staying flexible is the only way to survive the chaos when everyone is spread thin.

Consistency Pays Off - Seeing the participation grow from a quiet Monday to a packed Friday taught me not to judge an event by its first day. I learned that sometimes it just takes a little while for people to catch the vibe, and once they do, the energy becomes contagious.

Competition Drives Results - Watching the jars fill up during Penny Wars showed me how much people are willing to contribute when there’s a sense of rivalry involved. I learned that making a task competitive is one of the fastest ways to get everyone—even the quiet students—to participate.

Equipment Quality Matters - The disqualification of team 7-1 taught me that you can have all the skill in the world, but if your gear fails, you're done. I learned that checking the equipment—like the plank-walking rope—before the race starts is just as important as the practice itself.

Clarity in Communication - The scavenger hunt was hilarious, but the confusion over who actually won taught me that we need better systems for announcing results. I learned that even if the hustle is great, the ending feels a bit flat if nobody knows the official score.

Focus is a Skill - Comparing the giggling seventh graders to my fellow eighth graders taught me a lot about maturity. I learned that being able to "just chill" and get work done while chaos (and loud cheer practice) is happening all around me is actually a pretty valuable skill to have.

Pictures