After two years of virtual community building, MTHS had its first all-school assembly on Thursday, March 31.
As COVID-19 restrictions began to loosen, and when the mask mandate was lifted on March 12, the Associated Student Body (ASB) leaders decided to begin planning for an all-school assembly.
“We really loved the idea of being able to do a whole school assembly at least once this year, and thought right before spring break would be the best time to do it,” Big 6 Vice President Keziah Liu said.
Liu, a senior this year, never had the chance to work with her fellow leaders to put on an all-school assembly, and she looked forward to that challenge. On the Thursday before spring break, students walked into the gym to music from the pep band, decked out in their class colors. Seniors, familiar with MTHS traditions and chants, led the underclassman as they learned.
While the amount of students might have been intimidating, Liu was able to enjoy the experience of speaking in front of everyone.
“This was also a whole new learning experience for me, because I got to see the strengths in some of my other Big 6 members and weaknesses in myself,” Liu said. “We were able to rely on each other in uncertain times in order to pull through and give Terrace a good experience.”
After two years of virtual events, community building was difficult for ASB executive officers.
“I started with ASB as a class officer my sophomore year when things were normal, but when I got elected for my first year of Big 6, we went into quarantine,” Big 6 President and senior Kerensa Suzara said. “The biggest struggle was getting people motivated and spirited, but after this assembly, I think it all worked out.”
The assembly began with the traditional role call, in which each class makes their voices heard by cheering as loud as possible. This was quickly followed by a relay of flip the cup and rock paper scissors combined, ending with the first person trying to pop a balloon on a chair as fast as they could. Each class had one representative, with Sophia Argueta representing the freshmen, Chandler Hyde the sophomores, Tristan Harmon the juniors and Keola Galletes the seniors.
This was followed by a quick game of finish the lyrics.
“I’m really happy about the response from the crowd. I think it was one of the loudest,” Big 6 Public Relations Officer and senior Jaimee Wacker said. “I loved seeing everyone participate and see the underclassmen get into the school spirit.”
Despite two years of isolation, school spirit still remained, and most students seemed to enjoy the activities, cheers and traditions. As for the executive ASB leaders, they were glad to have an opportunity to put together an all-school in-person event at last.
“At the beginning of our term, I think all six of us can agree we had a rough time working together to think of COVID-friendly events and activities that our fellow students would enjoy. However, by the end of our term, I’ve found that I’ve had so much fun being able to serve MTHS with my Big 6 friends and ASB members,” Liu said.