On Friday October 4th, 2024, Carbondale Community High School (CCHS) seniors had a momentous victory and won the treasured Spirit Stick. The Spirit Stick is a black-and-white striped baton with black faux (fake) fur on each end. The Spirit Stick represents how much school spirit a certain class shows. When a class shows enough school spirit, they win the Spirit Stick at pep rallies.
As of the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, CCHS has 1,000 students, with most of them being freshmen. CCHS had a great turnout this year. Almost all of the students were at the pep rally, with many participating in games. Senior twins Gavin and Marin Chamness participated in the first of the games, which was described as cheese balls being thrown at a shower cap covered in shaving cream. This game was won by the junior class.
The rest of the games consisted mostly of running and racing. Another game won by the juniors was the inflatable costume race. This game is exactly what it sounds like. A student from each grade got into an inflatable costume, and raced down the football field. Juniors in a chicken costume placed first, sophomores as a T-Rex placed second, seniors as a Sumo wrestler placed third, and freshmen as a unicorn finished last.
During the “halftime show”, the CCHS Marching Terriers, CCHS cheer team, and CCHS dance team all put on wonderful shows. With every student dressed in class color shirts, it was a beautiful sight to see all of the musicians and dancers moving continuously.
A separate competition that went on during Spirit Week at CCHS was the Penny War. In an effort to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, students were encouraged to donate as many pennies as possible. However, any silver coins or dollar bills would result in points being deducted from the class’ total.
At the end of the pep rally, CCHS Principal Ryan Thomas announced the overall winners of the Spirit Stick. It was close, but the seniors won. When asked if it was fair that the seniors won, freshman Elisha Wheetley said, “ No. The only reason the seniors won is because somebody donated $100 worth of pennies during the Penny War. That’s 10,000 points towards the Spirit Stick.”
