Due to the pandemic, Student Council adapted the 2021 Color Wars to a remote setting and, last year, facilitated the event on campus with restrictions. This year, the event returned to its pre-pandemic form.

The annual event took place at lunch in the courtyard Friday, Feb. 3, and included tug-of-war matches, a door-decorating competition, a mural-painting competition and a relay race. For the event, each grade was assigned a color. Students could earn spirit points by finding creative ways to dress in their grade’s color or by placing in the top three for any of the events.

Student Council adviser Denise Hernandez said the in-person setting and energy of the Executive Board contributed to a successful event.

“We’re past…COVID. So, all of the events are held in the way they need to be,” Hernandez said. “We have a really, really excited, enthusiastic [and] committed exec team. That translates through the rest of the grades.”

The door-decorating competition has been included in past Color Wars celebrations. This year, the senior class won, the 11th grade received second place and the 10th grade received third place. 10th grade representative Parker Keston said door-decorating was her favorite component of the event.

“I love the door-decorating because there’s a lot of creativity with seeing how each grade takes their color and interprets it differently,” Keston said. “There’s a part of each person in the grade integrated.”

Tug-of-war is an event that consistently takes place during Color Wars. There were seven teams comprised of 10 students from each grade, as well as a team of faculty members. The eight teams competed against each other in pairs, with the seniors winning against the ninth graders in the final match. Though Darian Weiss (’26) said she wanted her grade to take first place, she said the results did not affect her grade’s spirit.

“Our spirit as a grade has grown…over the years,” Weiss said. “It’s fun to watch our grade win. Last year we won against the sixth, seventh and 10th graders, [but] you don’t have to win to have spirit in our grade.”

Keston said, when planning the event, the Student Council’s Executive Board kept students’ diverse array of skills in mind. She said the relay race encapsulated this goal by including ice-melting, watermelon-eating and Pictionary contests.

“We want to ensure there are activities for people of all kinds who have different strengths,” Keston said. “We have athletic aspects and trivia aspects, ensuring there’s an opportunity for everyone to get involved.”

The event ended with the seniors placing first, sixth graders placing second and 11th grade placing third. Throughout the year, Hernandez said, grades have had contrasting levels of school spirit. She said this year’s Color Wars amplified spirit for all grades because of students’ close involvement with its events, specifically the door-decorating competition, as well as their desire to earn spirit points.

“Sixth grade [is] always so excited because everything’s new. Seniors are motivated by the fact that it’s their last year,” Hernandez said. “It’s [about] trying to get everybody in the middle to continue getting spirited. The points are bragging rights. You also stay after school to decorate your door. Knowing you have some piece of that is what motivates people to be involved.”