Wednesday, September 20, marked the first official day of the 2023-24 Hawk Teams. As tradition dictates, the week before Homecoming, Hawk Teams set aside time for door decorating; however, this year a special twist was included! Rather than simply giving each room all of the supplies needed to decorate, each team was instructed to send students to the weight room three different times to pick up a surprise bag of supplies. With each time students were called to get their supplies, the pairing changed, allowing each grade to interact as they fetched their decorations.
Each bag had a large array of possible supplies, from plastic lobsters to hair nets; the themes for the door decorations were Hawk Pride and Mamma Mia (the theme of Homecoming). All supplies picked up, had to be incorporated into the classroom’s door design; any classroom that failed to incorporate any of their supplies would be disqualified from the competition. After being judged by a small unbiased panel, the top three doors earned points for their respective halls. Door decorating is just one activity that allows Hawk Teams to earn points for their hall. These points accumulate throughout the year, contributing to an overall tally that determines the ultimate hall winner at the end of the year which includes a prize.
The first Hawk Teams of the year resulted in an array of good feedback from both students and teachers. In reference to the door decorating, Mrs. Ahmicasaube stated, “I was really impressed with how all of my students got involved in the decorating process.”
Door decorating is a great way to start off the Hawk Teams year, as it encourages students to get to know each other and connect. Each grade was allowed to only use certain supplies (for example the seniors were assigned tape), giving the students the opportunity to work together to create the best door possible, with the limited strange supplies provided.
This activity has something in it for everyone as the design elements allow students to display their creativity, while their competitive sides are also brought out due to the fight for points. Only the top three doors could win points for their halls, so students were determined to make their doors better than the rest, with comments like, “My door is way better than your door!” and “We’re definitely going to beat you guys!” spoken as frequently as plastic lobsters were taped to doors. Such smack talk was not limited to just the students, as Mrs.Barnes remarked, “My door decorating skills reign supreme at Eastern.”
Overall, door decorating was a huge success when it came to starting out the 2023-24 Hawk Teams strong. More activities are soon to come, and Hawk Team leaders are hopeful that they will continue to spread joy with a healthy competitive spirit!
