In Prince George, school spirit is popular among many of the students. It is clear at pep rallies and sporting events. However, one of the most spirited times is Homecoming’s Spirit Week.

Spirit Week has been described as a time that brings the students together as a whole, and a time for students to show their royal pride. It gives them an opportunity to act goofy and have fun.

“Spirit Week is fun because you take an average school week and transform it into a crazy and exciting time with costumes, competitions, and a pep rally,” SGA president Kenneth Kidd said. “It makes the clock tick a little faster.”

As opposed to previous years, this year the student body was able to choose three of the five days (dress like your wall day and green and gold day were nonnegotiable).

“We [SGA members] decided [on this] basically because they [the students] get to pick what they want, and that is what student government is about,” Junior Class President Jessie Honaker said.

Based on votes, the student body chose Duck Dynasty/Camo Day, Pink Out Day, and Twin Day. However, the SGA has elected to replace Pink Out Day with Old Person Day and assign Oct. 11 as Pink Out Day.

SGA Vice President Cindy King said that a must do for spirit week is participation. It makes the students “more excited for the games and more fun.”

Spirit Week is filled with many activities in which students can participate. Students play games during lunch blocks and have activities at the Homecoming game.

“Seeing how the students always get involved” is something that Edmundson and many SGA members look forward to each year.

Not only does participating in Spirit Week encourage SGA members, but it also motivates the football team as they prepare to battle their opponents.

“It gets me motivated to play football because it shows that we are playing for a reason,” senior Isaiah Truell said.

This year’s homecoming the Royals are playing against the Matoaca Warriors.

“Having students participate is important because it helps bring the student body together and helps the football team know that they have a good student body supporting them,” senior senator Ashton Allin.

The question remains: how does one survive Spirit Week?

“One survives Spirit Week by participating as much as possible, keeping an open mind about the spirit days and other peoples’ methods of participating, having fun, and remembering that Spirit Week is to instill as much school spirit into the student body as possible,” SGA public relations officer Taylor Stevenson said.

The popular opinion is to just participate in all things spirit and homecoming.

“You have to participate in the [spirit] days and activities, because if you don’t you’re going to miss out on an experience,” junior Winn Watson said.

Some students’ opinions on surviving Spirit Week are similar.

In a survey conducted with 100 students, the five most popular Spirit Week responses were: attending the pep rally, having green and gold attire, decorating the class walls, purchasing a ticket to the homecoming game, and participating.

“Spirited unification is what describes Spirit Week because it is really important to participate in all the high school activities that you can,” Stevenson said. “You only have three spirit weeks, and you do not want to look back and wish that you had participated in all of them.”