“Just keep swimming”: School spirit exemplified at Finding Nemo themed Ren Rally
The fall Renaissance Rally sparks excitement around Foothill’s campus.
October 18, 2021
It’s officially the fall season and students at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) experienced their first Renaissance Rally of the 2021-22 school year. The Foothill Tech Associated Student Body (ASB) planned an entire week of activities including spirit week, the Ren Rally and the Happy Haunts dance.
The Renaissance Program is a nationwide organization dedicated to motivating students by rewarding academic excellence and attendance in public schools. Every year, Foothill Tech ASB puts on several school-wide events to award students with fun activities and prizes. To qualify for Renaissance, students must have received at least a 3.0 GPA or a 0.5 GPA increase on their previous report card.
When asked about the significance of these events for building campus culture, ASB advisor Melanie “Captain” Lindsey added that, “our goal is always to create events that are safe, fun, engaging and create a moment for students to know that they are special.”
The Ren Rally included a Spikeball tournament, two bouncy houses, face painting, a DJ, free Corrales burritos and free Mr. Softee ice cream cones. The quad was a flurry of excitement as students rushed around using their Renaissance tickets to choose two activities to take part in.
“It was very well organized,” said Carina Ziesk ‘23 as she observed the competitive Spikeball tournament in front of the stage, saying, “I think it brought students of different classes together because it was inclusive for all grade levels.”
Additionally, the DJ hired for Friday night’s dance interacted with the student body by engaging in contests, song requests and giveaways all centered around the “Finding Nemo” theme of the rally.
Many students were also spotted wearing overalls and creative costumes for the final day of the spirit week and the Halloween-themed dance. The spirit day themes were as follows: business attire Monday, pajama Tuesday, Adam Sandler Wednesday, anything-but-a-backpack Thursday and overall Friday.
First-year ASB member Eva Goncalves ‘25 concluded, “we [ASB] think it’s really great to provide experiences for the students to uplift and celebrate them”.
With fall break just around the corner, the Ren Rally helped unite and excite students to continue working towards success and provided everyone with a much-needed escape from the stressors of rigorous workloads.
