Cadets Go Back to School
After a long 3-month summer break, you start to think about the most horrifying, inevitable thing to come: BACK. TO. SCHOOL. After long, seemingly never-ending days, the constant ache to go swimming, and the most fun under the bright, burning sun, you unfortunately have to come back. Navigating a new schedule, “get-to-know-you” icebreakers, and the crowded hallways that never seem to end can be stressful. That’s why we, as the community at IKE, strive to create the most enjoyable and stress-free environment we can for the “back to school” experience. With that introduction, let’s get into exactly how these events are made possible and who makes them possible.
For the back-to-school bash, leadership students Scarlett Skiles, Emma Blondin, and Kamliah Espara led this event. After the event, these three amazing ladies spent many weeks organizing and calling vendors, scheduling/communicating times, and getting street-closure barricades. They also didn’t stop at “pre-prep.” After the event, they also helped pick up any trash and clean the entire area used. One of these lovely ladies said to me, “We like to support local vendors to grow our sense of community.” And from what I’ve seen, this doesn’t just change how the community in Yakima sees IKE, but also how we IKE students view our representatives.
Another big “back-to-school” event is the pep assemblies, where each grade, at different times, meets up in the gym to play games and learn their “class dance,” which they use to celebrate a victory for each game they win. Then, at the end of the day, everyone gathered in the gym in their respective sections to introduce the cheer team, have the dance team perform, have the color guard perform, and play these games again. Of course, we can all assume the seniors won most games. These class dances and games were also organized by an ASB officer, Melanie Jimenez, who, during each class assembly, made sure students were hyped up and participating.
Though I only mention a few students' names here, I want to give credit to all of ASB and Leadership, because without them, most of this wouldn’t even be possible. From events like the back-to-school bash, homecoming, and every spirit week there is, Leadership is the face of it all.
