During the more uneventful month of November, students at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) were given the opportunity to participate in the school’s connection week, named Showvember. The week started on Nov. 14, 2022, and ended on Nov. 18, 2022, led by the Associated Student Body (ASB). 

The spirit week revolved around some of the most popular TV shows for teenagers, with the themes ranging from “Grey’s Anatomy” vs. “Station 19,” Kardashians vs. “Dance Moms,” “F.R.I.E.N.D.S” vs. “The Office,” “SpongeBob” vs. “Mickey Mouse Club House” and “Master Chef” vs. “The Great British Baking Show.” This week gave students an opportunity to dress up like some of their favorite characters or celebrities, while also representing their favorite shows in friendly competition, but involvement was not very high. 

In addition to the fun outfits and costumes, ASB set up some entertainment and drinks to go with the different connection week themes. On “The Office” vs. “Friends” day, coffee was set up for students early in the morning. On Kardashians vs. “Dance Moms” day, a dance competition was held on the stage in the quad. 

The week’s themes also allowed for realistically priced outfits, so students were able to participate without spending money and could create the outfits from clothing they already owned. Loral Karian ‘25 explained how they planned for the Dance Moms theme saying, “My mom’s friend has a dance studio so I had the outfit ready, and I love the themes this week,” showing how the different spirit themes gave Foothill Tech students the ability to get creative while also staying affordable.  

While the week included some of the most popular shows, some days the majority of the school did not dress up. Some people speculate it was because of a lack of advertisement. 

Ryan Alderman ‘25 explained, “They only made one post about it, they didn’t really put anything around the school, because they’ll usually do that, it’s really cool actually, spirit week’s fun but this week I didn’t remember it was spirit week.” 

While there might have been some issues with the advertisement, connection week has one main goal: to connect the school. This week was an opportunity for students to display shared interests in common TV shows and have fun dressing up. 

Rihanna Samples ‘25 explains the connection well, mentioning, “It creates a sense of community and it’s just something fun and lighthearted that can help take our minds off of school.” Alderman ‘25 also stated the best part of spirit week is the fact that “Everyone’s together, everyone’s having fun.” 

This connection week was a good way to know our fellow classmates’ interests even with its lack of participation. While our school is small, everyone can benefit from knowing each other a little better. As Friday ended and everyone went home for the weekend, students were able to look back at the fun spirit week and look forward to the future ASB events.