8th Grade Crew // Homecoming Week!
One of the joys of being back in person this school year has been participating in all of the fun school events that would normally take place, but had to be canceled due to virtual learning. One of those events is Homecoming week which consists of dressing up for “Spirit Days”, creating a song or chant to represent our Crew, creating a Crew Flag that represents our entire Crew, and concludes with announcing the winner of the Habits of Character Homecoming cup. This year, the 8th grade Crew won the Upper School HOC Homecoming by using all the Habits of Character!!!
Throughout the week, the crews participated in Habit of Character challenges to gain points towards the Homecoming cup. The 8th grade Crew showed cooperation by recording themselves completing a Silent Birthday line up; students had to line up in order of their birthdays without using any words. The Crew showed perseverance by perfecting our routine of getting supplies out in the beginning of class within the first three minutes. They showed responsibility by making sure that they left our classroom space better than they found it. The students completed this challenge by straightening up the laptop shelf, organizing our bookshelf, cleaning out the space underneath their desks and by cleaning off the white board!! They showed Integrity by making sure that the entire crew completed the Culture and Character Survey that we take twice a year. The crew showed compassion by decorating pumpkins and gifting to them someone within our school community. The best part for me was being able to see how our crew used their curiosity and creativity to develop our flag and chant.
Our crew flag was very special to every member of our crew, as some members have been with DAA since kindergarten. Every single symbol was meaningful to us. The members of the 8th grade crew were really excited to include a staircase that led to high school which was outlined in the Crew Colors of each grade from kindergarten to 8th. The students signed their names on the step of the grade level when they entered. The flag also included a graduation cap to represent their future success as 2026 graduates from high school, the coveted “purple hoodie” which was awarded to all 8th graders who applied to the high school of their choice and an outline of everyones hand print with their name written on it.
At the end of the week, we had the students reflect on what it meant to win the Habit of Character Homecoming Cup; I was very impressed with how deep and reflective they were. The students agreed that they were now in the “spotlight”, not only because they were the winners of the Upper School HOC Homecoming cup, but also because they are the current leaders of the entire school. All eyes being on them, meant that they had to uphold the habits of character, continue to be successful in their academics and work hard on their goals of being accepted into the high school of their choice. All in all, the week was filled with fun, growth and an amazing win for 8th grade!!
