Feb. 7 is Jones students’ 100th day of school, but many remain oblivious to this fact. What was once a day celebrated with 100 items, elderly costumes, and a class party is now nothing more than another day of class.
Celebrating cliché holidays was a trademark of many Jones students’ elementary education. These traditions helped embody a sense of community, spirit, and fun in the repetitive cycle of school days. However, as the material in school becomes increasingly more difficult, most Jones teachers prioritize classwork and skip over these joyful traditions.
“Teachers are always pressed for how much time they have to deliver their curriculum, but we have to weigh that against having to make sure that all students feel wanted, part of the school, and have memories coming out of [Jones],” said science teacher Michal Michniowski.
Many students reminisce on the school traditions of when they were younger and believe it would be beneficial if teachers hosted these fun events in high school.
“We all dressed up as 100-year-olds one time [for the 100th day of school],” said Katie Sullivan ‘24. “My favorite was Field Day. We would have snow cones run around on the field all day.”
The Jones community lacks a sense of allegiance and togetherness, and without a football team to help coax school spirit, it’s difficult to improve.
“We don’t exist in a traditional sense like other high schools. Football is usually the sport that congregates everybody together. We have obstacles that are very unique to Jones and hard to overcome,” said Michniowski.
Corny holiday parties would help fill this void in spirit as well as increase students’ connection to their peers lost from the size and scope of Jones.
“We’re jammed downtown across two buildings and 13 different levels. It’s hard to congregate and have big spirit moments,” said Michniowski.
As a top three high school in the state, Jones’ rigorous curriculum puts a significant amount of pressure on its students, and requiring teachers to include holiday celebrations in their curriculum would give students a much-needed “brain break” and improve future productivity.
“For me and I’m sure for a lot of other people, five-day week or month-long stretches of class are difficult when we don’t have something exciting to do. It makes me better at school when we get a day off,” said Sullivan.
While a full day devoted to the 100th day of school celebrations may be difficult to execute at a high school level, a simple 100th-day-themed math problem could go a long way in increasing school spirit, community, and overall mental health.
“School can be stressful enough as is. I don’t want my students to feel like I’m teaching in a vacuum. It’s not just biology, we’re all going through this together,” said Michniowski.
Michniowski has already implemented small traditions into his regular Biology curriculum for other holidays.
“I don’t like to stop teaching but we’ll do candy for Halloween and holiday music and hot cocoa for the winter,” said Michniowski.
With the repetitive cycle of high school classes, tests, homework, and clubs, we could all use a little spirit to break up the monotony. And let’s be honest–your teachers could probably use the fun break, too!
