School Spirit Ideas

If you're interested in cheerleading or already part of a squad, school spirit ideas are likely very important to you. Not only are cheerleaders responsible for encouraging fans to cheer at the games, they also inspire fellow students, athletes and faculty during the school day.

When it comes to school spirit, attitude is everything!

Planning a fun-filled spirit week can be quite a challenge. Not only do you have to keep the team motivated to try their best, but your goal is also to get the entire school excited about an upcoming sporting event. This is a challenge because some of the students you are attempting to inspire may not be interested in sports at all. It can be important to reach the student body on their level.

One of the best ways to get the school interested in an upcoming sporting event is to get everyone involved in spirit week. Host contests that will allow every student an opportunity to sparkle and not just the athletes.

• Poster contest – This allows art students to strut their talent.
• Best ad for the team – This allows the students who are excellent writers an opportunity to participate.
• Best rendition of the school fight song – This one's for the musically inclined.
• Best dramatic skit – This one's for theater students.

If you aren't sure how to get some of the groups in your school involved in spirit week, don't be afraid to ask to meet with the leaders of that group and brainstorm some ideas. They know the interests of their group members better than you do and can offer invaluable insight.

Themed days are fun, but be sure you get the permission of the faculty of your school before proceeding. Themes might include:

• Face painting related to school colors
• Crazy sock day
• Shirt inside out day
• Mismatched clothes day
• School colors day
• Crazy hair day (Must not be permanent if it violates your school's dress code.)
• Crazy hat day
• Decades – Have the student body dress up from the decade of your choosing. Some good ones are '60s, '70s and '80s.

Try to think about catchy sayings that relate to your school's mascot, team colors or name of school. At the same time, think about the opposing team. For example, if playing a team based in Carmel, you might hand out caramels with school lunch one day with little cards that say "We're gonna chew up Carmel". Or, if your opposing team sports the color purple, you might make up posters with animated grapes that say, "Stomp those grapes!" The goal is to get the students excited and pumped up with short phrases they'll remember all week.

You'll want to ask your principal to plan a pep rally for the day of the big game. The sports team and cheerleaders should be at this rally. The cheerleaders' job is to get the student body to cheer for the team members. You may need signs to accomplish this, so have them ready to hold up ahead of time. If your student body is already filled with school spirit, you may just need to holler and shout to get them cheering.

School spirit ideas can be as creative as you'd like. Just remember that each school is unique. One school may get so excited about an upcoming game that they offer back to back events for students. If your school is not as rambunctious, don't worry. Show school spirit in any small way that you can and know that games are won based on a wide variety of factors. One pep rally or crazy hat day will not make or break a game. It simply serves to put the school in the mood to cheer at the actual event. So, smile, show school spirit and cheer your heart out!

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• School Cheers
• Cheerleading Quiz

• Words for Cheerleading Cheers
• Popular Cheers for Cheerleading
• Cheerleading Chants
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