On December 8th, Dr. Secker emailed students announcing that there would be a Holiday Spirit Week and Door Decorating competition, all set for the week of December 20th-23rd. Students were excited about the holiday spirit week as it offered a sense of normalcy and fun during an otherwise stressful time. 

As for the Holiday Spirit Week itself, the days would be as listed: Monday as Ugly Sweater Day, Tuesday as Wear Holiday Colors, Wednesday as Holiday Pajama Day, and Thursday as Wear your Favorite Holiday Hat Day. The spirit week would be in conjunction with a holiday door decorating competition for first period teachers and their students. The email sent to students stated that “The winning door (class) will receive donuts after returning from break,” and also revealed that the theme for the door decorations was “Walking in a Raider Wonderland.”

Many teachers and students had already begun their work on decorating their classroom doors the week before Holiday Spirit Week, opting to continue their decorating in the following weeks. Freshman student Bree Mullikin commented that she “was going to help in first period to decorate our class door so that we could win.”

Freshman Ella Ford also wished that she could have participated in spirit week with her friends, as they originally planned to correspond with their outfits. She added, “I wish that we had pajama day on Wednesday, especially because it would have been exciting since we normally don’t have pajama day.” She hoped that there would be more opportunities for events like these in the future.

Surprising the entire ERHS community, the county announced its plans to go virtual through January 14 at the end of the day on December 17, 2021. The decision was made in regards to the rise of Covid-19 cases specifically dealing with the new Omicron variant. The Holiday Spirit Week and door decoration contest were effectively canceled. Students were of course disheartened that they would have to spend the last few days before winter break at their homes, and some were even more discouraged that the decision would last for two weeks into the new year. Doors were left in various states of completion, and returning to them after the period of distance learning reminded students of the fun that had been lost. 

The holiday door decorating contest is an annual tradition at Roosevelt, so hopefully the tradition will continue in the following years, assuming there are no other obstacles. As for the Holiday Spirit Week, students also hope that the events return next school year. However, this was a fairly new tradition that did not occur in recent years prior to COVID-19. Hopefully both events will have a better outcome in the next school year.

Feel free to check out the gallery with the remaining door decorations!

Gallery • 5 Photos