Silent halls. Masked faces. Empty bleachers. When Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau arrived at UPrep five years ago, UPrep’s school spirit was at an all-time low.
“My second year here, COVID was just finishing up. We had a home game. There were more fans from Bush than there were from UPrep at the game. I was mortified,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “It was a really weird year, and everybody felt really disconnected.”
According to Codrington-Cazeau, the school’s sense of community began to rebound the following year. Alexa Carlisle, a member of the class of 2024 and last year’s ASB president, attributes her grade’s strong sense of community to her peers’ realization of the personal agency they each held.
“At a certain point, people had to change their own mindset and be like, ‘This is something that I want to participate in. This is something I want to put my energy in.’ And our grade showed that initiative,” Carlisle said. “They recognized that high school had the potential to be so much
better if we got to know each other and value each other…we started doing that, and then it just felt like an entirely different community.”
But taking responsibility for building school spirit didn’t just mean going to sports games.
“A big thing about school spirit…[is] the Puma pride that lives in the hallways,”
Carlisle said. “What I would always try to do is just smile at people, wave at people–say hi…Those little things add up on top of each other to make a big community feeling.”
Codrington-Cazeau beamed as she recalled the graduated class’ dedication to their community.
“They believed in supporting everybody…There were students who came to mock trial. There were students at robotics competitions…That doesn’t usually happen here,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “I mean, those kids started in ninth grade, and by 12th grade, we were back. So this is my dedication to them.”
For senior ASB executive Annika Brown, without the class of 2024, the halls have once again felt a little quieter; the bleachers at sports games appear a little less blue.
“You can definitely feel a hole where there was more enthusiasm, especially when you attend games or outside-of-school events,” Brown said.
However, Codrington-Cazeau believes that the class of 2025 is capable of filling the shoes of last year’s seniors.
“It’s never too late,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “Think about it. You’re the seniors now. Whatever you do will be cool. People look up to seniors.”
The class of 2025 finished with the least amount of points in the class cup competitionlast year. Senior Gavin Davis has long been dissatisfied with his class’s sense of spirit.
However, Brown sees signs that the class is strengthening its sense of community.
“I feel like people are realizing that this is the last time–the last year–we’re gonna see most of these people,” Brown said.
“We’re just more able to appreciate each other’s company and have a good time.”
As a result of this stronger sense of community, Brown believes that the class will become more spirited.
“A tight community, a tight class, is the starting point for building spirit,” Davis said.
As the school year progresses, Codrington-Cazeau reminds the senior class how important their role is in creating a joyful school community.
“Be there, show up and just be enthusiastic,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “You are the role model for the class that comes after you, and just carry that with you that whatever you do this year, others will follow.”
