Alexia Lima also contributed to this article.
This past October 11th, while upperclassmen were stressing over taking the PSAT and SAT, the freshmen class took over the gym and all four houses went head-to-head to compete for the ultimate prize: bragging rights for the rest of the year.
In prior years, freshmen took college tours while the PSAT and SATs were taking place. But since the pandemic occurred, colleges no longer host these tours and the Freshmen Olympics were invented instead.
Inspired by the schoolwide Spirit Day held in November and the Knowledge Bowl that used to be held in the spring many years ago, the Freshmen Olympics are meant to help freshmen build community by working together within their houses.
“I think it’s really good for freshmen who are in the same house but may not be in the same classes to mix and get to know each other,” Michael Berman, a participating ninth-grade teacher, commented.
On the morning of the Freshmen Olympics, all freshmen loudly reported to the auditorium awaiting the instructions for the day. When the teachers were able to get the students' attention, they went over the schedule and explained what activities the academy teachers had in store for them.
All of the houses were then separated into different areas of the school for them to be able to practice for the day ahead of them. Amy Yu, the Jenkins and Brunelli freshman guidance counselor, explained, “They were all in the auditorium in the morning, that part was a little rough cause they're very loud in the auditorium; they weren’t really listening but when we broke up into their house they were fine.”
This year’s event was notably different from the past two Freshmen Olympics. Shauna Campbell, a teacher at the Freshmen Olympics said, “Yes a couple of things were different. Last year we were more prepared because we had Freshmen Bootcamp during enrichment, so I did a presentation in the morning to let all the freshmen know what it was about because they had never heard of it before and they weren’t super prepared.”
The planning, however, was easier to do because many of the plans were able to be used again. According to Yu, ”We pretty much used the same sort of schedule except for in the morning – last year we had someone come in and speak.” Berman then said, ” The first year it was a lot of planning because we were building it from the ground up, but this year we reused a lot of the planning.”
Students then had the choice to either practice for the Knowledge Bowl by playing a preliminary Kahoot, practice for the various physical activities later in the day, or create posters for the poster contest.
When practicing time was up, all of the houses walked up to the gym for the knowledge bowl to finally start. The knowledge bowl was a timed trivia that included a series of questions that were related to the core subjects; history, English, math, and science. The prior winners of the Kahoot from each house would then compete with other teams from the other houses to win points. Not only was this trivia about answering questions, but it was also about teams working together to win.
All the teams tried to hurriedly work together to answer the last few questions left before the time was up. But in the end, the Boyle house team took the win for answering the most questions correctly and for their teamwork.
Even though the games were mainly about competing with each other, Berman said, “I think the goal was for it just to be fun.” After all of Boyle House's loud cheering of celebration, the students were directed to the lunchrooms to eat before starting the physical activities part of the Freshman Olympics.
After a chaotic lunch break, all freshmen returned to the gym for the highly anticipated physical challenge portion of the day. The physical portion consisted of five different challenges that tested each house's ability to work together as a team and communicate with each other.
“I think my favorite part is always the physical part in the gym because it’s at the end and they get to that point where everybody is revved up and there's a sense of camaraderie by then,” Lucia Musilli, a ninth-grade teacher participating in the Freshmen Olympics, expressed.
With the tension heavy in the air after the hefty lead given to Boyle, a pair of volunteers from each house bravely made their way over to the middle of the gym floor to participate in the first physical challenge of the day, the push-up battle. Instead of being timed, each participant was prompted to complete as many push-ups as they possibly could while their house leaders and classmates counted off their progress.
Countless cheers were heard throughout the gym as the stakes got higher for which house was going to complete the most push-ups. In the end, Holland became victorious by winning first place and four points for their team, Brunelli following close behind them.
Once the push-ups were out of the way, students began hastily forming the groups that would participate in the second challenge of tug of war. Jenkins and Boyle competed in the first heated round of many, which resulted in Jenkins conquering the win and securing its place in the final round. The remaining houses, Holland and Brunelli, went on to play a very quick round that ended with Brunelli swiftly making their way to the finale.
However, before this finale could take place, the two losing houses competed to see who would come in third and this round left Holland in last as Boyle won second runner-up. The initial champions then met to play the final round as members of each house sat on the edge of their seats. It was a very close game as both Jenkins and Brunelli alternated who possessed most of the rope. The results seemed to be able to swing either way while nobody was quite sure who would win overall. But with a last-minute rise of strength, Brunelli overpowered the opposing team and won the first place’s four points.
Transitioning from focusing on strength to speed, the fastest students gathered to run in the third challenge of the event, the relay race. The participating freshmen needed all the vocal support they could get as they sped through the relay trying to finish in first place. Although it was a close call, Brunelli completed the relay the fastest.
“The people on the bleachers - they really cheered on their classmates, so I think that really brought all the 9th graders together, I think they all had a lot of fun doing that,” Yu concurred.
Dominating the leaderboard with two wins in a row, hopes were high in the Brunelli section that they would be the house to dethrone Holland from their two-year winning streak. Yet at this point in the event, there was no denying that Boyle and Holland had the best chance of winning due to their success in the Knowledge Bowl. This news did not keep the two other houses from trying their best and remaining optimistic since slogans and posters were yet to be scored.
Keeping the competitive momentum high, students lined up to shoot free throws for the fourth challenge. Having plenty of practice earlier in the day, the pressure was intense for those participating after seeing the opposing teams play. With the timer clicking, baskets were being made one after another before time was finally up and Boyle was named the free throw champion.
The final challenge of the day was the ultimate test of collaboration, where each team played over-under, a simple game that is exactly what it sounds like. Players had to have excellent communication in order to pass a basketball through the whole team by giving it to the person behind them either over their heads or under their legs. This process repeated as players restarted the chain every time the ball made it to the end, and the winner would be determined by whichever team did a full rotation the fastest. Jenkins proved themselves as the fastest and most collaborative team as they ended the event on a high note after not winning any of the other challenges.
Posters and slogans were the last thing that had to be scored for the event to be able to calculate the final standings. Participating teachers voted on which posters showed the most effort and spirit, and which slogans were the catchiest. Brunelli won with its colorful posters and slogan, “Brunelli is fire because we got that desire.”
As the gym boiled in anticipation of who would be the final victors, it was finally time to announce the results of all the hard work the freshman put in that day.
Ultimately, Boyle was named the Freshman Olympic champion, officially taking the title from the raining champions Holland. Celebrations began as the Boyle section cheered with pride at their achievement, the rest of the gym congratulating them despite the envy that they weren’t in the other’s position.
Opinions on the final standings aside, the overall response to the day was overwhelmingly positive.
“I think the competitive spirit of the [Freshmen Olympics] is a fun way to not only compete against each other, but also build a sense of belonging because it combines competing in sports, academics, and spending time with your friends,” Eric London, a ninth-grade teacher participating in the event, shared.
Teachers supervising and encouraging their houses during the event were not the only ones who enjoyed the Freshmen Olympics. Students that were rooting for their team throughout the day also appreciated the event.
“Everybody tried their hardest. I liked seeing people try because obviously this is embarrassing and when people go out of their way to actually try, it’s nice,” freshman Francesca Marenghi explained.
Experiencing the Freshmen Olympics served its purpose of building community not only within each house but also in the freshman class. When it comes to how freshmen will remember this event, Berman said it best, “It’s kind of hectic, but kids overall remember it pretty well because it’s different from their day-to-day.”
“Students all had a lot of spirit and it really helped the culture and had students more connected to each other and to their teachers,” Yu concluded.
