School Spirit Shines at Sion Olympics

The annual Olympic Games sparked competition between classes in dances, decorations and games.

  • Sophomore Maggie McKinney cheers on the sophomores participating in a game of sharks and minnows at Sion Olympics March 7. Freshman Bridgette Conner ended up winning the game for her class.

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  • Seniors Kendall Rogers and Gabby Grimaldi cheer on seniors Lola Tebbe and Savannah Childress participating in a game of blindfolded musical chairs during Sion Olympics March 7. Junior Peyton Wiewel ended up winning the game.

    PHOTO | Dani Rotert
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  • Junior Olivia Townsend watches the final round of blindfolded musical chairs during Sion Olympics March 7. Junior Peyton Wiewel won the game for the juniors.

    PHOTO | Allie Dierks
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  • Senior Savannah Childress listens for directions from the senior class during a game of blindfolded musical chairs at Sion Olympics March 7.

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  • Senior Gabby Grimaldi yells directions to senior Savannah Childress during a game of blindfolded musical chairs at Sion Olympics March 7. Childress made it to the final round of the game, but ended up losing to junior Peyton Weiwel.

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  • During the final round of blindfolded musical chairs at Sion Olympics March 7, seniors Kendall Rogers and Claire Lewing yell directions at the blindfolded senior Savannah Childress. Childress lost to junior Peyton Wiewel in the final round of the game.

    PHOTO | Dani Rotert
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  • Freshman Sophia McClure leaps over freshman Abby Thornhill as part of the freshman Stuco dance at Sion Olympics March 7. The freshmen represented Sweden and dresses in ski gear to correspond with the theme.

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  • Sophomores Audrey O’Brien, Avery Brundige and Keely Schieffer perform an underwater dance move during the sophomore Stuco dance at Sion Olympics March 7.

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  • During Sion Olympics March 7, sophomores Paxton Misemer and Katelyn Brinkman dance with the rest of sophomore Stuco. The sophomores represented the country of the Bahamas.

    PHOTO | Taylor Pitzl
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  • Junior Brie Bowes performs a stunt with other junior Stuco members during the junior Stuco dance at Sion Olympics March 7. The juniors got the second highest score for their dance after being beat out by the seniors.

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  • Juniors Brie Bowes and Bridget Schumm give a thumbs up to the judges after they scored the junior Stuco dance at Sion Olympics March 7. The juniors received the second highest score for their dance, beat only by the seniors.

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  • During Sion Olympics, Senior Class President Sarah Tappan performs in the senior Stuco dance March 7. The seniors received the highest score for the dance and won the Olympics overall.

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  • Seniors Keely Roudebush, Emily Koca and Megan Broomfield wave American flags in the air as they cheer on the senior class at Sion Olympics March 7. As the seniors do every year, the seniors were the United States of America for the Olympics.

    PHOTO | Allie Dierks
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  • Seniors Claire Lewing, Sarah Tappan and Gabby Grimaldi celebrate a high score by the judges for the senior Stuco dance at Sion Olympics March 7.

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  • The senior class Stuco officers end their dance swaying to “Take me Home, Country Roads” with the rest of the senior class at Sion Olympics March 7. The seniors won the Olympics.

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The annual Sion Olympic Games were held March 7 in the gym, and students and staff took part in the tradition by dressing up and cheering loud.

The day began with Stuco members decorating the hallways to coordinate with each grade level’s country. Freshmen were Sweden, sophomores were the Bahamas, juniors were Ireland and the seniors carried on the legacy of being USA. Students were out of uniform for the day in order to coordinate their costumes with their countries.

“My favorite part about Olympics is either the dance or the spirit of our class,” junior Stuco Representative Brie Bowes said. “We prepped the dance for about a month and the hallway we decorated the morning of.”

After classes ended at 2 p.m., everyone flocked to the gym for the games to begin. Earlier, teachers had voted on the best-decorated hallway to award the winner points. The festivities kicked off with a game of sharks and minnows, and two girls from each grade level were called to the floor to face off against the shark, Director of Athletics Kate Pilgreen. Freshman Bridgette Conner was too quick to be caught by Pilgreen and won the first game for the freshman class. A game of blindfolded musical chairs followed, and junior Peyton Wiewel took home a win for her class.

“I’m blown away by how much effort all the girls put into the halls and costumes and dances,” Director of High School Library and Media Services Jennifer Campbell said. “I love getting to see how much pride each class has in Sion and in their grade.”

Each grade level then performed a dance to get the crowd pumped. StuCo members had rehearsed for weeks and paired songs together to go with their country of choice. Wearing coordinating outfits, each grade did flips, cartwheels and big entrances in hopes of catching the attention of the judges, math teacher Reynold Middleton, Campbell and English teacher Melissa Wilcox. The judges determined that the seniors had the best dance, followed by the juniors who won second place.

“Between mixing the music, drawing in your class, and the extra theatrics it is such a fun event to be a part of,” Campbell said. “They all put in so much effort to entertain.”

The four dances can be found here.

After the dances concluded, each grade battled in a scream-off, to earn a few final points for their team. The seniors screamed the loudest and finished off the day with a win. These points, along with the dance and decoration points, helped the seniors win Sion Olympics.

“It’s really important to keep Sion Olympics going to bring the school together so we can all just have a good time,” senior Scream Team leader Savannah Friedebach said. “It’s one day a year where everyone can get into it and just have fun and go crazy without being judged.”