The numbers appear in red, bright, blocky letters on the scoreboard. 4:00. Players line up on each side of the gym, their feet on the yellow line, knees bent. Errr! They take off, rushing to the halfcourt line where six balls lie. 

On Dec. 6 at 6 p.m., the annual dodgeball game, dubbed the Snowball Fight, took place in the old gym. The winning team, “Pigs in a blanket,” consisted of seniors Dylan Post, Ethan Sweat, Chase Chapman, Blake Brydan, Michael Shaw and Anthony Johnson, with “Bishop Sycamore” as the runner-ups. 

“I think it helps everyone come closer together. Everyone’s just playing a game together even if it gets a little competitive out there,” Bryden said. 

The game was the first event of Winter Week, a week organized by student leadership to boost student morale. Traditionally right before Quarter 2 exams, Winter Week is meant to give the students a break from stress. 

“I hope it really brings some joy and creativity among students because with exam week and COVID, we haven’t really gotten to do many fun events like this,” senior Adeline Hart said. 

Hart, who is chair of the decorations committee, oversaw the preparations student leadership made for this week, including ordering decorations, advertising the dress up days and recruiting people to participate in the events. 

This year, dress up days include Ugly Sweaters on Monday, Winner Wonderland on Tuesday, Silent Night on Wednesday, Flaunt Your Flannel on Thursday and Kohn’s Candy Canes on Friday. Students should wear their favorite team jersey or shirt on Tuesday, pajamas on Wednesday and flannel on Thursday. On Friday, students should dress up in all red or all white, with freshmen and juniors wearing white and sophomores and seniors wearing red. 

Winter week events this year will feature a Flick on the 50 on Wednesday at 6 p.m., where “The Grinch” will be played in the Sam Momary stadium. Tickets are $4 each and will include popcorn and beverage. On Friday, Hagerty will host West Orange in a basketball game. The junior varsity game starts at 4:30 p.m., and the varsity game will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available on GoFan, with adult tickets at $6 and student tickets at $3. 

While there are other spirit weeks such as rivalry and Homecoming week, Jaycie Bryce, a senator in the senior class, believes the winter theme makes it stand out from the rest. 

“I’ve never seen another school do this. Every school has homecoming week, [but] not every school has a winter week,” she said

As for changes students would like to see, Lowe said she would be open to the idea of dressing up as a holiday character. 

“You could always have a classic Christmas movie day where somebody could dress up as the Grinch or Rudolph,” she said. 

Whatever dress up days or events are planned for next year, Winter Week will continue to serve as an event that bonds and connects students. 

“It’s just a fun thing for all the students to participate in. It’s [a time] to get together, not argue about anything, with everyone participating,” freshman Patrick Young said.