From November 14th to 18th, high school students of Asia Pacific International School (APIS) enjoyed the Spirit Week organized by the Student Representative Council (SRC). Each grade with its special mascot—Silver Wolves (grade 9), Red Sharks (grade 10), Yellow Cheetahs (grade 11), Black and Pink Ninjas (grade 12)—competed with each other for the ‘Spirit Point.’ As an annual event of APIS, Spirit Week attempted to foster school spirits and communications amongst all students. Juniors (Yellow Cheetahs) won the first place; freshmen, last place.
Students could gather ‘Spirit Point’ in various ways: wearing the clothes that match to the theme of each day (Character Day, Beach Day, Little Kids Day, Team Color Day), finding the ‘Spirit Stick’ hidden somewhere in the school campus, and winning the activities prepared by the SRC. Friday marked the highlight of the week: the Spirits Day. After students finished the barbeque lunch prepared by the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), they gathered at the gym to enjoy games the SRC prepared. Juniors who won the majority of the games gathered the largest amount of Spirit Point and won the Spirit Week. The grade which collected the highest Spirit Point will be awarded at the end of the school year.
Freshmen, however, complained about the physical-based activities during the Spirit Week; as youngest students in the high school, competing with relatively weaker bodies turned out to be hugely unfair. Such activities included the beach volleyball, dodge ball, tug-of-war, and many more. Will Sohn, the freshman, said, “We eventually gave up participating after we felt the gap.” Especially during the ball game which involved all four teams, the reporter detected the higher graders purposely targeting on 9thgraders. The students suggested the SRC to organize the activities that all four teams can enjoy.
