Amidst PSAT testing, college application deadlines, and end-of-quarter stressors, Spirit Week offered a welcome reprieve for many Dragons.

Monday, October 14th, kicked off spirit week with washes of red, white, and blue. Beginning with “USA Day,” the rest of the week progressed in a series of dress-up days. Tuesday was “Minions Day,” and the school showed out, dressing as characters ranging from Gru to Kevin the Minion from the popular movie series, Despicable Me. “On Wednesdays we wear pink” (Karen, Mean Girls). The week wrapped up with “Twin Day” on Thursday and class color day on Friday, with students showing up decked out in everything from construction gear to pirate hats. 

Powderpuff games took place on Monday and Wednesday this year. On the first day of the tournament, seniors were paired up against freshmen, and sophomores against juniors. The groups fought fiercely to progress to the next round of games. As Simone Spalding (‘25) described, “The senior class had a training day where we ran drills, talked about positions, and practiced passing. We were locked in and ready!” The training clearly paid off, as by the end of Monday, seniors had progressed to the championship round, where they prepared themselves to face off against the junior class, who beat the sophomores in the preliminary round. On Wednesday, with a crowd of spirited cheerleaders providing support and hordes of spectators eagerly watching, the championship game began. After a series of passes, fumbles, touchdowns, and celebrations, a winner was declared. In a result that brought disappointment to some and elation to many others, the juniors emerged victorious. 

The day after the powderpuff championship, another beloved Maggie Walker tradition, the 2024 Lip-Sync Battle, took place on Thursday at lunch. Students crammed onto the stairs, railings, and ledges to watch performances from each class. Although each class’s effort shone through, the Lip-Sync Battle is still a battle, and winners had to be declared. At the top of the leaderboard was the senior class, whose use of props, musical variety, and class collaboration secured them the victory. In second place came the sophomores, with their rendition of the Dallas Cowboys’ classic “Thunderstruck” dance routine. Juniors took third, and in classic Maggie Walker tradition, freshmen took last. 

The penultimate last events of this year’s spirit week took place on Friday. With each class decked out in class colors and gear, the students took to the track for the pep rally and Field Day. The pep rally was a star-studded event, with performances from Bhangra, Dance Team, and Marching Band, among others. After a series of games ranging from the pyramid, the sack race, and everyone’s favorite event, tug-of-war, the overall winner of spirit week was declared. Echoing last year and the year before that, the seniors once again claimed ownership of the Spirit Stick and were crowned the most spirited class at Maggie Walker.