During the week of Sept. 21, 2020, Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) had their first virtual spirit week of the year in hopes to reunite students with their school pride, as well as integrate some normalcy into these unprecedented times.

Students were able to participate in the spirit week festivities by attending their daily zoom classes with the special theme assigned to that day. The themes were as follows: Monday – PJ day, Tuesday – FTHS sports day, Wednesday – Bring your pet to school day, Thursday – 1st day of school outfit and Friday – FTHS spirit day. 

Elise Paul ‘21, an Associated Student Body (ASB) student, added, “[It] was meant to build trust and connections with the students, and we wanted to start off the year with a get-to-know-you week.”

With all classes taking place over zoom, the liveliness of the back-to-school season was completely absent, and many students felt disconnected from their peers, teachers, and past lifestyle. 

The Foothill Tech ASB team has also created the hashtag #fthscovidspirit on Instagram as one way to connect students and their spirit week pictures from a safe distance.

Their plan is to continue virtualizing many of the on-campus events that would normally take place during the school year. With the assumption that in-person education will resume sometime in the next calendar year, events like these remain an important part in maintaining students’ relationship with their school and peers.

While students and teachers have lost many things during this pandemic, spirit is certainly not one of them.