DHS started pep rallies back up in 2022 for the first time since 1997, a 25-year gap. On Thursday, October 24th, 2024 DHS held its third pep rally of recent years. This rowdy event is a popular tradition at American High Schools to boost school spirit and morale. In Danbury’s case, it happens right before the Homecoming football game on Friday and the dance on Saturday. Staff and students were initially concerned about fitting 3,600 students and around 300 staff in our bleachers, but it worked out with sports teams and select teachers down on the field.
For the pep rally, the pep band is required to play select tunes while the crowd files into the stands during 4th block. They were packed shoulder-to-shoulder and end-to-end in the stands with more than a few people standing and sitting on either side. Every DHS sports team was invited down to the field to participate in a series of entertaining activities, performances, and competitions. It started with announcing every team and having them run across the field. From there, the fun continued. There were many events, from the routine of cheerleaders and football players to the upper and lower classmen tug-of-war. Throughout these festivities, Mr. Donovan himself was shooting the DHS t-shirt cannon into the various student sections.
DHS student Samuel Ramirez describes that “it was good. It made me feel some school spirit. Like when the kid Gabe came out and Mr. Donovan introduced him as the kid who does the announcements every Wednesday. I felt more school pride than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. Because it felt like this kind of impersonal thing, the announcements being done by Donovan every day but I realized ohh my god there’s a guy who just does it.” Having both the kids and adults that run the events and sports of DHS down on the field is a big opportunity to introduce them to the student body. Unless students are already involved in an event or have friends in it, they often don’t get the chance to see who runs everything or even know it’s there. Ramirez remarked on how “it kind of more informed me on the happenings around the school… I feel like the pep rally should do that. We’re showing off all the teams and things that happen around the school…they may not all do flips but it shows the best side of the school.” Pep rallies are a time of year for everyone to get their shoutout and feel their school pride. So far, it is looking like pep rallies are here to stay at DHS.
