With music booming in the main courtyard and dogs playing on the grass, the Archer community celebrated the end of the fall sports season with the annual fall pep rally Friday, Dec. 5. After the initial date was postponed due to heavy rain before Thanksgiving break, the athletics team made sure the event would still occur. This celebration recognized athletes in middle school swim and volleyball, upper school JV and varsity tennis, JV and varsity volleyball and varsity cross country.
As Dance Performance III performed to “Get Loud,” by Jennifer Lopez, students in grades six through 12 and faculty members crowded the stage in the main courtyard. Then, members of the Athlete Leadership Council began making announcements for each team and their individual accomplishments. Seventh grader Colette Rifken said she loved the environment at the pep rally. She said she felt the support from her peers and friends.
“I loved being on the volleyball team because I really love volleyball. Now I am doing soccer, which I am really excited about,” Rifken said. “It is important to highlight all the good athletes and all the hard work they have done this season.”
Saide Kay (’31) said coming together as a team and being applauded by other classmates is fulfilling. Kay also said being on a team and practicing a sport has been an outlet for her to release energy and helps her focus on schoolwork.
“I did swim, but I had never been on a team before, and it was really fun. It was really different than what I am used to, and I really like the experience. I really liked going up [on the stage] with [my teammates] because we have not practiced with each other in a while,” Kay said. “Accomplishing and learning things from being on a team can show that sports take a lot of time and a lot of effort, and it comes from a lot of passion.”
Similarly, Elea Simon (’31) said the pep rally appreciated each athlete for all their hard work, grit and commitment. She said the student tunnel was a fun demonstration of school spirit and a great way to cheer on her peers, and she is now inspired to try a new sport, other than soccer.
“We appreciate them for their hard work, including the dancers and all the stuff that they have done over the course of the first semester … We have just [an] all-girls team [that] went against a co-ed team and still won. It shows part of Archer’s purpose of [teamwork],” Simon said. “We are all one team, and we are here to cheer on our peers. When we go up, and people cheer us on, it is like we are all supporting each other. Seeing all the girls up there, it feels like I can do it too.”
Eighth grader Simone Alba said sports can help you meet a lot of new people and that she has met all different types of friends through athletics. She said she loved that dance was included in it because it made people excited and introduced another type of sport and art. She also enjoyed seeing Archer’s mascot, the panther, jumping and cheering with her friends.
“I think one of the best performances was either volleyball or swim, because they work really hard, especially upper school volleyball. It is really impressive how they go, and they keep going, even if they lose or win,” Alba said. “It is amazing when students are represented by their sports. But it is really awesome when students can learn different things from each other in sports and also be represented not only by their culture or the clubs they are part of, but also by who they are as a learner, as an artist and as an athlete.”
Video by multimedia reporters Georgia Lebowitz (’28) and Leani Al-Midani (’28).
