The Sparty Awards

February 14, 2013

Students watch as SLHS’ very own “One Direction” performs.

On January 18th, Southern Lehigh hosted the first ever Sparty Awards, a new twist to the traditional pep rally. It featured awards, games, dancing from our very own Southern Lehigh students. Seniors Austin Rivera and Ryan McGinty, along with the Spartan Spirit Club, put in a lot of behind-the-scenes work to ensure success.

“Probably over 100 hours worth of work is put in to create a pep rally,” Spartan Spirit Club adviser Mr. David Dougherty said. “We start with choosing a theme, then creating games and events, then finding a way to create crowd interaction, then writing scripts, creating a timeline, and finally sorting out the bill materials and the supplies we need.”

“It takes a lot of work with the making of the videos and creating the ideas and turning them into a reality,” sophomore Ashley Holschwander said. “Mr Dougherty had the original idea for giving out awards to people; then others helped to build the idea after that.”

The Sparty Awards recognized one student from each class who proudly showed his/her school spirit. The winners of the Most Spirited Award were senior Patrick Kroll, junior Brianna Prince, sophomore Jake Stattel, and freshman Elizabeth Clemmer.

Freshman Brianna Mobley won the Best Reaction to The Gingerbread Man award. She won this award for her freaked out reaction to the gingerbread man running around the halls. She said it was both “interesting and embarrassing.”

The Spotlight staff won an award for all the hard work and improvement this year.

“It was exciting, and cool to finally be recognized for what we do,” Spotlight Editor-in-Chief Casey Anthony said about winning the award.
Other students and staff also won recognition for their hard work.

Michael VanNess won the Inspirational Kindness Award for always showing kindness no matter what. Junior Rachael Brink won an award for always being herself, and never being afraid to do what she wants and how she wants to do it.

Mr. Beaupre accepted the Community Care Award on behalf of Key Club. Sra. Imms won the Athena Award, and did her own little dance once she received it.

The custodians even won an award for always cleaning up after our messes without complaining. Students showed their appreciation with a standing ovation and loud applause.

The Sparty Awards took a different approach to the traditional pep rally that proved successful, and the Spartan Spirit Club has already started planning the next pep rally this spring.

About the Contributors

Robyn Somers, Staff Reporter

Robyn Somers was a member of the Spotlight staff for four years, serving as a staff reporter for three years and web editor during her senior year. Throughout high school she was an active member in Young Americans for Freedom. Robyn was also a key member of the winter and spring track and field teams. She went to leagues and districts all four years and won many medals in the 100, 200, and 400 meter runs. Robyn’s favorite memory of journalism was writing stories with Joelle Smith when she was a freshman. These creative pieces were broken down into installments and run as a serial throughout the 2011-12 volume of the Spotlight. In the fall, Robyn will attend DeSales University where she will major in nursing and also run track with the university’s team.

Anna Simoneau, Staff Reporter

Anna Simoneau was a member of the Spotlight staff for two years, contributing as a staff reporter, assistant photo editor, and photo editor. During high school, Anna has also been involved in both Key Club and National Honor Society.

Outside of school, she enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, playing on her intramural soccer team, and spending time in the kitchen. Anna claims baking sweet treats are her speciality.

One of her favorite memories is eating in the very cafe where JK Rowling once sat, writing Harry Potter. According to Anna, the cafe has amazing sandwiches.

Upon graduating, Anna will attend Lehigh University where she will major in journalism/science writing with a minor in environmental science. Hopefully, one day she will become a successful journalist. However, if that plan falls through Anna will instead be a technical writer where she can utilize her science degrees.

Anna looks back on her four years in high school fondly. She says she will miss Mrs. Quartuch, Mrs. Howsare, Mr. Helinski, and of course... Mrs. Spritzer.

Her advice? “Don’t let senior year consume you!”