Smells Like Team Spirit
A sense of belonging is vital for an individual’s growth — both personal and social. When we speak of ‘school spirit’, we refer to the sense of belonging or community shared by those part of an educational institution. This helps to set the tone for the institution in question; enabling its student body to be more engaged, more passionate about their school’s on and off campus events. It allows them to participate in their school’s victories and failures as a wholesome community. This feeling of involvement and togetherness makes challenges at hand seem relatively easier, and more doable.
Sure, it’s very easy to turn up to school, attend classes and then just leave. But what good does that do for you? You stay stuck in your shell, you barely get to experience the A Level ‘feel’, and you miss out on opportunities to branch out. Staying in your bubble only works to a certain limit, because after a certain point, it is very important to come out of your comfort zone and explore the things around you.
At Cedar College, we place utmost importance on school spirit. This could apply to multiple instances: academic achievements, sportsmanship, community service, or even something as simple as internal school events. While we don’t steal the credit for our students’ passion and charisma, we do hope to play some part in motivating them to treat their school as a second home. This is the place where you spend a major chunk of your day for not one, but two years, meaning that a lot of growing up, learning, and transitions take place while you are still a student here. To survive the academic grind with your head high, you sometimes do need a support system in place; a system comprising of individuals who can relate, empathize, and give you a sense of security.
In order to facilitate your growth through the best means possible, it is important for students to consciously take steps to feel more included in school. You could start off by showing up to sports matches and tournaments to cheer on your team, attend events thrown by school societies, volunteer alongside other students for community service, or simply show up to the SAC to tune in to what’s coming up next. Even taking interest in school counts as school spirit.
The perfect exhibition of team work and school spirit has to be the wins of our Cedar students over the past few months. After taking part in various competitions and tournaments, our student body has displayed great teamwork and companionship! Whether its Science, sports, art, or math competitions — we managed to come on top successfully! These commendable results were only possible because of every individual’s conscious decision to take up challenges, failures and victories as a single entity. This enables every team member to build up on confidence, feel more motivated, and have a sense of belonging.
The art of supporting and lifting each other up speaks volumes of your character and provides you with a holistic learning experience on its own. What’s important to keep in mind is that your involvement and passion will help you flourish forward. It is extremely important to support and encourage one another. This shows the world that you are a single entity. Obviously, there’s no hard and fast rule to be at every school event with the same enthusiasm, but it does help to know where your interests lie. If you are a sports fanatic, start turning up to matches! If you are curious about the “Street Store” initiative, stay back after school and help out volunteers!
It’s possible that sometimes you may not feel like a certain school event is your scene. Try it out anyway! Spending quality time with your fellow students and faculty team is a great way to let loose, and also leaves room to create amazing memories. This is primarily why we are adamant to ensure that students and Cedar’s team of admin and faculty continue to have an open platform for dialogue at all times. We aim to eliminate the barrier where “students cannot approach teachers outside class” and actually introduce them to the concept of accepting these people as their mentors. Such relationships last for years to come, and years later, it’s heartwarming to actually be in touch with those who you literally grew up with, and in the case of your teachers, in front of!
