ASB and Thrive’s “Part of the Pack” campus activities began last week and will continue throughout the month of March, promising to deliver on a new “give, don’t ask” philosophy behind school-commissioned events in order to better serve the student population.
The week featured three all-day activities intended to emphasize belonging and fun on campus. These days included a low risk, high reward emphasis, reflecting a new approach to making participation more accessible to students at every corner of campus.
“We’ve spent two years doing activities in a very traditional manner,” activities director Jennifer Petrosian said. “We started to look for how to do things that are more customized to our particular school and individualize events with what our kids would be willing to participate in.”
One of the major focuses of the week was eliminating the risk-taking that comes with dress-up days and lunch events.
“Wear Your Favorite Outfit” day on March 6 emphasized the importance of each person’s unique style. Additionally, the “Leave Your Mark On Me” day, which invited students to leave messages on clothing items with a sharpie, allowed students to get involved without having to leave their comfort location on campus. On March 4, students could bring their own container to school to get free hot chocolate or lemonade at the Student Activities Center.
ASB and Thrive members found school spirit events to be more successful when students were not forced to commit to them. They focused on considering what students liked about Northwood, such as the open campus, and incorporating that aspect into spirit activities like bowling and Jenga games that were set up near lunch tables on March 8.
“It was a nice way to take our minds off of things,” junior Sailor Kensrue said. “The board games were out for us to engage with and very reminiscent of elementary school and recess activities.”
The idea of changing the philosophy behind spirit weeks came after ASB attended the Envolve student engagement program in January.
The program emphasized how facilitating a welcoming environment is essential to increasing spirit, and that this could be done by creating easy opportunities for students to involve themselves without demanding anything in return.
“Envolve was a great experience where we learned the true way to increase school participation: by giving more instead of asking,” class president freshman Matthew Lee said.
For the rest of the month, ASB will have a variety of events available to all, such as a St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt and the free Sophomore Movie Night on March 22.
Thrive plans to continue setting up lunch activities every Friday of this month, including giant board games, with an emphasis on students having the option, but not the obligation, to participate.
“The point is not necessarily to emphasize participation in Thrive or ASB events, but to emphasize willingness to be a part of school campus culture,” Thrive advisor Emma Zschunke said.
