School spirit was one of the things I looked forward to when entering high school. I quickly realized though, that our school is lacking in that area. I think most would agree our school could use a lot more pep and pride. Despite critiquing the school’s spirit, I have at times been guilty of not participating or trying very hard for spirit weeks or attending and supporting sporting events, simply because I did not want to or I didn’t want to be the only one. By addressing these problems that have become very apparent, we can come up with solutions to fix this.

There are many possibilities for the reason of the decline; one may be that incoming classes just don’t have the same enthusiasm that others did in the past. Some may not see the importance in spirit and making our school known for the involvement of the students, which needs to be changed. Others may just think that they are simply “too cool for school.”

The incoming freshmen and underclassmen aren’t the only ones to blame for this. Upperclassmen should set a good example that can be passed down to lower grades. This way, when the now freshmen are seniors, they have plenty of spirit because they were taught the way we do it. For example, during Homecoming spirit week, few students go all out because they are possibly afraid no one else will be as decked out as them. Yet, if everyone goes all out for everything, more people would get involved because they know all the other students will.

I believe school spirit and pride is one of the best ways to get involved and feel a part of the community. For this reason, our lack of it is devastating; students should want to be apart of and be proud of Mill Valley. 

However, our school is not even close to being completely out of spirit. Many seniors and students from every grade are very dedicated to showing their enthusiasm for our school. Lots of sports events often have many students in the crowd that follow the theme of that night. Just Tuesday, Sept. 24, there was a pep rally hosted by SLT. They taught cheers and chants used at the games, which helps especially the freshman to have one way to be involved. By doing this, SLT and the students that attended are showing initiative that they want this issue to be a thing of the past. 

With the things currently being done and in place along with changes made in the future, our school can increase the school spirit. It depends on the willingness of students and if they are enthusiastic and passionate about this. There is still plenty of room for improvement for myself and school wide, but I believe with the steps we are taking and future decisions, Mill Valley can get out of this school spirit slump.