Crowds of “lucky” Dragons roamed the quad, decked with Irish accessories and green and gold decorations during the annual Renaissance rally held on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day.
Bridget McGuire, Associated Student Body (ASB) Renaissance rally director, organized the event along with her partner Claire Renar, ASB Renaissance rally assistant.
Organizing this rally took extensive preparation and cooperation, according to McGuire.
“The process involved getting my team together, based on their strengths and weaknesses, like the yin and yang process, and putting them together so that they get certain things done that they’re really good at,” McGuire said.
Excited voices of enthusiastic students and loud music rang throughout campus, and students of all grades participated in activities and interacted with their fellow peers.
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“The atmosphere is supposed to be providing a really fun, easy-going event where people can just let loose and be silly together as a family,” McGuire stated. “I really want to encourage that family feeling at Foothill where everyone can be goofy if they want. You shouldn’t feel ashamed or feel like you’re going to be judged.”
Students that are in the Renaissance program for first semester of the school year were able to participate in this rally. Renaissance can be achieved by either obtaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher, or receiving a .5 raise in GPA.
During the school day, Renaissance students also received shirts that were slightly different in color for each of the grades, but each displayed the same “punny” message on the front: “Irish I had more time to study, said no Dragon ever.”
“The t-shirts usually need to fit the theme of what the rally is going to be so we wanted to incorporate the green touch with a four leaf clover on the sleeve, and the caption […] is supposed to represent how strong FTHS dragons are,” Renar said.
The rally included activities that ranged from guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar and a photo booth to face painting and a racing game. The game involved hitting a ball with a potato hanging from the player’s waist in a pair of pantyhose.
Stefan Fahr ‘19 particularly liked the energy of this event.
“I see everyone running around and having a good time, and I see Bridget on the stage pumping everyone up,” Fahr remarked. “The overall vibe is really cool!”
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Many students also felt like the rally was a good opportunity to get to know people that they don’t normally interact with on campus, which created a sense of unity.
“The Renaissance rallies are always super fun, and an opportunity to recognize students for their achievements,” Principal Joe Bova commented. “[Students] get to partake in a party atmosphere with their friends and get to experience games, […] which is a great culture thing on campus.”
