To spotlight the West Ranch winter sports teams, ASB hosted a Harry Potter-themed rally at brunch on Friday, Jan. 26. Students dressed up in Harry Potter-themed colors according to their grade for the final spirit day of the Harry Potter spirit week. Freshmen wore red for Gryffindor, sophomores wore blue for Ravenclaw, juniors wore yellow for Hufflepuff and seniors dressed in green for Slytherin.

   When asked about the behind-the-scenes planning of a rally, senior rally commission head Gabrielle Ottaviano explained, “We’ve been planning the rally since last [November and December], but we came up with the theme last summer.” 

   To kickstart the rally, the MC’s (Avery Van Harte, Kyle Antepara, William Seidel and Erin Ha)  invited Senior Tiffany Hyon to the stage for the national anthem. The gym fell silent as Hyon captured everyone’s attention with her performance. 

   West Ranch Principal Mr. Fisher was next on the stage, who carried the iconic spirit stick. When asked about its significance, Mr. Fisher explained, “The spirit stick was something that’s a tradition which was created a few years ago, so prior to me being principal, and I have been asked by ASB to continue that tradition.” 

   To hype up the crowd, he jumped around to each class section and held the spirit stick high as he encouraged students to have the most spirit in the room. Each class had a chance to cheer as loud as they could, while the cheer team performed stunts beneath them. 

   The senior class had the most spirit, adding to their winning streak at rallies. Mr. Fisher continued, “I am all about tradition and trying to get students hyped up. It’s just a way to try to show your school spirit and it’s a class competition, so it helps to bring everyone together.”

   Cheer followed up with a performance that left the crowd cheering. With a Harry Potter-themed soundtrack, girls from JV and Varsity Cheer blew the crowd away with their stunts. Senior Varsity Cheer captain Emma Hamilton says she enjoys performing at rallies because she likes to “see all the team’s hard work pay off in the final product.” 

   When asked about cheer activities that Wildcats have to look forward to at future rallies, Hamilton said, “We have man cheer coming up which I am really excited about and we are constantly thinking of new skills to work on.”

   Then, it was finally time to celebrate the winter sports teams. Cheer members lined up, forming a red carpet for girls soccer, followed by boys soccer, competition cheer, girls basketball and boys basketball. Senior Varsity Boys’ Basketball player Andrew Meadow took up the mic and urged everyone to come to the basketball game later that day to support the varsity boys playing Hart.

   The cheer mats were then rolled up in preparation for the award-winning West Ranch dance team. With a spirited and action-packed showcase of skill, their choreography enchanted the audience.

   Next up, the MC’s called up two students from each grade to participate in a Quidditch Match. In a match between the underclassmen and the upperclassmen, the students raced to throw a plush ball through hanging hula hoops on either side of the gym. There was an opportunity for a team to win it all by capturing the flag of the golden snitch, who happened to be someone familiar on campus一West Ranch staff member Juan! Ultimately, the upperclassmen scored the most points and won the game.

   The MC’s then had everyone look to the screens on either side of the gym to watch the long-awaited West Ranch TV Space Jam video. Students got the chance to see how all the Wildcat winter sports have been training this year.

   To conclude, MC Kyle Antepara proposed to William Seidel with a fun, Valentine’s-themed poster. The two celebrated the proposal in the center of the gym and finished off the rally by doing the famous “Dirty Dancing” lift.

   Cats, be on the lookout for ASB’s next rallies and check out @westranchasb for more information on upcoming events!