Got Spirit?

Occasionally, I hear comments about the apparent lack of school spirit at Chatham High School which has caused me to spend some time thinking about the issue. First of all, school spirit is difficult to measure but generally people believe it exists when they observe students attending sporting events and supporting their peers who are athletes. More specifically, school spirit can and should be measured by the number of students who get involved in other school activities beyond athletics. If we use these two measures and apply them to CHS we get a mixed message. Admittedly, attendance at sporting events has not been great, however participation on interscholastic teams and in various clubs and activities in the school has been very good, with some groups like the Animal Welfare club growing significantly.

I think to fully understand the state of school spirit in our school or any other, one has to expand the definition a bit. To me, school spirit is defined as students demonstrating pride in their school which can happen in a number of ways. Every day at CHS I see students wearing school athletic apparel, proudly displaying the school name or "blue devil" logo. More importantly, I believe pride in one's school is quietly displayed in the way students treat their school facility. The lack of vandalism and graffiti as well as the general cleanliness of the building at the end of the day all suggest that students care about and are proud of their school. This is clearly evident at Chatham High School.

Last month we had an amazing, enthusiastically supported spirit week celebration, culminating in one of the most competitive and spirited games' assemblies I can recall. School spirit was readily vivible throughout the week. However, I would contend that, in so many quiet ways, school spirit is alive and well in our school throughout the year. That is not to say we couldn't use a little more of the vocal school spirit to support all of our athletes.