KW has last assembly in the original building

KW+has+last+assembly+in+the+original+building

Priscilla Wigington, Staff Writer

Last Thursday, students attended shortened classes happily, in anticipation of the assembly that would take place at the end of the day. The assembly would be the last in the old school building and the Trojans’ farewell to a gym that had hosted countless basketball and volleyball games, wrestling meets, PE classes, and pep rallies.

At 1:45 pm, students started rolling into the gym, and pump-up music played as student council members went through last minute preparations and the cheerleaders warmed up and practiced their routine on the floor. There were banners and tables with objects representing each of the Four Pillars of KW by the back of the gym.

The emcees, Mr. Horne, Mr. Stedille, and Mrs. Esau, welcomed the crowd sitting in the bleachers and announced the KW cheerleaders, whose performance would be their last in the old gym.

“It felt really surreal to be performing for the last time with my team, especially since we were, in a way, saying goodbye to the gym,” said senior Shanel Snyder, “But it was also really exciting to be performing because we had won state and got to end with a really high energy performance.”

After the cheer performance, a video honoring the dance team and their trip to the National competition played and their coach spoke. There were also slideshows showcasing each of the Four Pillars: Academics, Athletics, Activities, and Acceptance.

After honoring all of the athletes, Mrs. Rose presented the individual teams with the banners they had earned at state competitions, instead of unveiling the banner on the gym wall.

Then, as it wouldn’t have been a proper assembly without a unique game, 12 participants made their way to the gym floor to play Human Hungry Hungry Hippos. The game was funny to watch and many students enjoyed watching their classmates play a new spin on the Hungry Hungry Hippos game. “My favorite part of the assembly was the game. We used to play that game as kids, but it’s much funnier when you have people recreating it,” said Kristine Silvers, a junior.

There was also an added bonus of a fear factor shake, which became a fundraiser for Angels Cancer Care. Four student teachers, in the running to drink the shake, would each have a tub for money to be collected and whoever had the most money in their basket would win. After the money collected had been counted, Mr. Realing’s student teacher Mr. King was the unlucky candidate to drink the shake filled with tapioca pudding, soy sauce, canned peas, and Hershey’s syrup, mixed by Mrs. Brauchie. “I wouldn’t have drank that shake,” said Owen Hof, a junior, “I didn’t know what was in it, but it looked pretty gross.”

Everyone enjoyed different parts of the assembly and many also reflected on what they would miss the most about the old building, as well as what they were the most excited for in the new one.

Senior Laura Zurawski said, “It was good to see all of our school’s accomplishments on video during this assembly. My favorite thing about the old school is its character, it’s been lived in and loved.”

“I think that the best thing about the new school is that parking will be nicer for all of the students,” said sophomore Alyssa Atnip.

To end the assembly, Student Body President Abbey Kersenbrock gave a speech to say thank you and goodbye to all of the Trojans. She talked about how she was going to miss the school and had been dreading the moment when she would say goodbye, but said she had come to realize that more than missing the building itself, she would miss the people in the gym with her then.

Though it is undoubtedly hard to say goodbye to the KW gym, as Mr. Diller always says, “It’s not the bricks and concrete that make Kelly Walsh great. It’s the people that show up here everyday.” No matter what building we are in, one thing will always be sure: home is where the Trojans are.