Wintertime is coming up and that means so is Christmas break, and many students have said they excited for the activities leading up to the holiday. 

Several Weir High School organizations work together to host events yearly to brighten the Christmas spirit with much of this year being planned by Student Council as well as GAA and Pep Club.

Ted Arneault, head principal, said, “Student Council is typically in charge of that so Mrs. Reitter is the adviser, and the student council officers would be responsible for organizing and communication the events for this month.’’ 

Who wants to knock on a boring door?  

The door decorating contest kicked off the holiday season and is already underway. Staff and students participate by decking out their classroom doors.  The best door winner will be rewarded. Student council is offering the following prizes for the winning doors:  

1st place: $75 

2nd place: $50  

3rd place: $25  

Here is more information Reitter has provide about this event, “The door decorating contest is set to begin on Dec. 2 and will run until dec. 18, so all doors need to be completely decorated by Dec. 18. Judging will occur Dec. 19, and the winner will be announced on Dec. 20. This year’s theme is ‘Anything Christmas.’ Teachers can choose whatever block they want to decorate their doors.” 

The 12 days of Christmas  

The 12 days of Christmas calendar is a countdown until Christmas break. Students may dress up according to the themes. This will run from Dec. 9 through Dec. 20. For more information, here is what Reitter had to say, “Student Council has developed a calendar that is hopefully going to create some Christmas cheer, that takes us to Christmas break. Each day there will be a theme, and students can choose to participate or not to participate.” 

Students take on staff

The GAA’s volleyball game will be another staff vs. student game, which will be held on Friday, Dec. 13 during fourth block in the gym. From Monday, Dec. 9 to Friday, Dec. 13, tickets will be sold during lunches to get into the game for $1. No tickets will be sold at the door. Students will leave their belongings in their fourth block classroom and be dismissed from the gym at 2:10 to gather their belongings.  

Whose side are you on? 

For dodgeball tournament, here is what information Reitter gave about the game, “Students can start to sign up for dodge ball Mon., December 2 through Dec. 16. The dodge ball game is Dec. 19. Students must have at least eight people on their team, and it is $40 a team or $5 a person, but you must have your entire team with you in order to sign up.”

There will be 11 student teams and one teacher team. It will run as a bracket- the last standing student team will verse the teachers. The team that wins will get Tudors ordered for breakfast when they return from break.

Half of the proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Salvation Army and the other half will go toward funding future Student Council events.

President Naomi Young said, “I am so excited for this year’s game. Last year it was a lot of fun to watch, and I think the students really enjoyed it.”

This is what English teacher Betty Smith- Montgomery had to say about the dodgeball game, “I hope we have a dodge ball game because, I want to get out there and compete and beat the students!” Students do not want to be on her bad side during the dodgeball game.  

The final showdown 

Holiday festivities will wrap up with the annual Follies assembly, which will be organized in a team effort with Pep Club and Student Council. Each grade will select a team of ten students to compete in challenges and determine which class has the most spirit.

Every Follies consists of the Christmas tree relay- where each team member has to race down the gym, then give the costume to the team member. Whichever class finishes first wins that game. Pep Club and Student Council plan to make the follies as fun as possible and are very excited to see how it will all play out.

This year, the event coincides with the Christmas Color Challenge theme day, on which students in grade 9-10 can wear green and those in 11-12 can wear red.

The Follies tradition dates back at least to 2013, with a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, according to yearbook records.

Happy holidays!

The countdown to break could feel like ages, and this is why Weir here to help students make it to break.