School spirit builds toward Sports Night

The stands of Hewlett High School’s gymnasium will be nearly filled to capacity at 5 p.m. on Feb. 26 as the seniors run through the doors, making their grand entrance. Cheering loud with enthusiasm, the seniors will set the tone of the spirit for the rest of Sports Night.

Sports Night is held annually in honor of Adam Barsel, a Hewlett High student died in a car accident in 2000, and in his memory the Adam Barsel Scholarship Fund was created. Each year, the majority of the proceeds collected at Sports Night are donated to this scholarship. The night is filled with various competitions between grades of in basketball, floor-hockey, volleyball, tug-o-war, Swedish-relays, dances, and an academic bowl.

The theme for each grade is reflected in their dance, T-shirt, and banner. This year the theme of each grade is a different decade, with seniors choosing the 80s. The week of Feb. 22-26 is Hewlett High’s second spirit week of the school year. Every day students will dress in special attire to represent their school spirit. The schedule is ’Merica Monday, Pajama Day Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thematic Thursday, and Seniors Blackout Friday. Wellness Wednesday is a new choice this year for students to wear trendy workout clothes.

Each grade is led by a captain during the Sports Night competition. Olivia Epstein and Brian Petterman are the senior captains, chosen for their athletic ability, and leadership abilities. As a captain, the students help organize the sports, oversee the events, take part in the captain’s relay, and urge other students to cheer.
“I’m excited to be captain because it has been something I have been looking forward to doing since freshman year,” Epstein said. “I love playing sports and being competitive and I can’t wait to do all of that with my grade for our last Sports Night.”

Another exciting part of Sports Night is the dance competition. Each grade’s dance team performs a five- to 10-minute dance that embodies its theme. After weeks of practicing, students are eager to shine in front of their peers. With different decades being the theme this year, a blast of songs from the past and matching costumes are expected to entertain the crowd.

Although this night is very competitive, the true spirit is in bringing the student body together. As a school, the students are gathered to not only have fun, but also support a great cause.