As you walked through the gym doors, the only thing you could see was a wave of people wearing black rushing to get the best spot in the bleachers. The commotion was because of the winter Pep Rally, which had the objective of raising the students’ excitement for the basketball game that happened on that same night. The annual home game against the rival, Langley, was a reason for the school day to be full of energy.

After an enthusiastic spirit week, the pep rally, which happened on Jan. 31, was the final touch to get everything ready for the basketball game, and as the school mascot, Angus ran in front of the bleachers on a the energy was extremely high. The Senior class won (as always), but that was not enough to make everyone else stop cheering for their classmates who competed in games that followed.

The winter Pep Rally counted with the traditional dance by the dance team, and fun games, such as tug of war between winter sports captains, musical chairs and a basketball-themed obstacle course, which was surprisingly won by sophomores.

“It was crazy to see sophomores winning a game for once at a pep rally,” Sophomore Hannah Vincenzo said. “Our whole section of the bleachers was cheering really loud when we won, it was a very fun moment.”

However, the event counted with attractions that had not been seen before, such as a hip hop routine performed by the Sister Squad, which is also going to be present at McLean’s Talent Show.
“To me the [Sister Squad] stole the show,” Junior Isabella Melo said. “The dancing was amazing, the music was loud, and it was just so entertaining to watch.”

The winter sports team captains’ also walked through the gym carrying banners with the name of their sports, and leadership class students talked a bit about the upcoming game and the  Winter Formal, which happened the following night. 

As a closing, both male and female varsity basketball teams’ captains played a small basketball match, counting with the presence of teachers such as Mr. Larkin, Mr. Abrams, and Mr. Sudik, making everyone cheer for the team with the teachers they knew.

“It was so funny to see my teachers outside of the classroom playing basketball in front of such a big group of people,” Melo, who is a new student at McLean said. “I had never been to a pep rally before, and this one definitely went beyond my expectations, it was a great experience.”