When I think of school spirit, I think of going all out, dressing up head to toe according to a theme. I cover all the exposed skin on my body with glitter and scream cheers for the entire event. Some go all out in the audience, or on the field playing, but others are more subtle with their excitement.
Urban Dictionary defines school spirit as “Devotion of your whole entire high school life to your school. Going to football games if not to sabotage it.” Students at WHHS have many ways to define school spirit, ranging from an emphasis on sports and spirit wear to simply a general attitude.
However, different students define school spirit in different ways.
“I define school spirit as supporting one’s school. You don’t have to support everything, but trying to keep a good attitude about your school is showing school spirit,” Jack Richey, ‘24, said.
At WHHS, school spirit is encouraged and everyone has some sense of pride in their school. However, one may look down on school spirit as too peppy, too much work or unnecessary, when others enjoy going all out with costumes or being loud and open about their school pride. At WHHS, we tend to show the most support for football games, while other sporting, academic and fine art events are often overlooked.
WHHS is a college preparatory high school, and may not be the best at sports, but many students have immense pride in our school and what we do here.
“Going to sports games, [and] appreciating my school outside of [its] walls,” Sean Kelly Darks, ‘20, said about how she shows her support inside and outside school events.
Students take many college level courses and are given many extracurricular opportunities both academically, in clubs and through alumni creating opportunities for students. If you don’t go to WHHS, you don’t have the same high school experience as WHHS students and faculty. These experiences bring us together and we have a feeling of camaraderie and accomplishment that we can’t help but talk about outside of school.
WHHS students are unique and show their spirit in their own way. For example, through “humor and zest. Maybe even some nice outfits/costumes,” Omar Hill, ‘23, said. Even with the academic workload, clubs, sports and other extracurriculars, WHHS students have a good attitude and show spirit in every way they can.
This can be as simple as “having a smile on my face and always trying to spread positive vibes,” Jamiya Barnett, ‘21, said.
School spirit is shown in so many different ways, and WHHS is full of it. Students and faculty show their spirit by attending sporting and academic events and honoring traditions.

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