St. Clair Snow Week 2024
It took about four days for the “Snow” to be involved in St. Clair’s Snow Week as one of the first true snowfalls of this strange winter season gave kids another way to cut loose and enjoy the weeklong celebration. Snow Week has been an annual tradition at St. Clair for many decades, and while it has gone through some changes over the years, school spirit has remained constant.
Each day came with a theme with fun activities scattered throughout the week: Monday was PJ Day, and classes decorated their hallways to highlight their creativity. The elementary school voted on the winning hallway, and the seniors were victorious with their “Smurfs Under the Sea” theme. On Tuesday, Jersey Day gave students a chance to represent their favorite athletes, real or fictional, but also signified who would become the Snow King and Queen.
One of the most anticipated moments of Snow Week, the Coronation ceremony, was held on Tuesday, February 13 during the eighth period. The Student Council prepared the stage with balloons and elegant black, blue and white winter colors. Ashley Miller, Student Council Advisor, prepared the Snow Court to take the stage before giving the host, William Wellman, the reigns of the show. Once the flood of students had settled into their seats in the small gym, the Snow Court King and Queen candidates made their procession to the stage.
The Snow Court were paired, arm-to-arm, and were applauded by the audience as each pair stepped on stage. This year’s Snow Queen candidates were: Hannah Anderson, Kenzie Barke, Rory Brunow, Tori Ward and Katelyn Young. The Snow King candidates for the year were: Gavin Eischens, Wyatt Kleist, Coleton Prange, Jacob Schimek and Noah Seys-Marshall. Mr. Wellman introduced all the candidates and shared some fun facts about them. The candidates had submitted answers to questions before the show that were read to the audience; unanimously, the Snow Court determined that Gavin Eischens was the worst driver on the dais. After the silly anecdotes, the Snow Court was challenged to beat their teachers in a ten second competition. They easily defeated their teachers in this contest, and Noah Seys-Marshall stated that his opposing teacher was “easy work”. The student audience was absolutely thrilled by the activities and were further excited by the results for Snow Week King & Queen.
To announce the results, Mr. Wellman asked for and received a drum roll from the audience, and skated the Snow King crown over the heads of the candidates as they stood waiting. With thunderous applause, Noah Seys-Marshall was declared the Snow King and, after saving the crown from falling, was crowned. Finally, and eagerly anticipated, was the announcement of Snow Queen. In a similar manner, the Queen’s tiara glided over the heads of the candidates before finding its home on the Snow Queen’s head, Rory Brunow. The audience was ecstatic with cheer for Brunow’s crowning moment. After a few closing statements and thank you-s, the gym cleared out and the Snow King, Queen and Court, and their families, took pictures to encapsulate this Snow Week Coronation.
On Wednesday, St. Clair used Valentine’s Day to its advantage with Pink & Red Day and hosted a Valentine’s Bingo with some candy, Bubblrs, and gift cards as prizes; credit to Mr Torkkola for calling bingo. Thursday introduced a new themed day during Snow Week – Teacher Look-Alike Day – which may have been one of the highlights of the week as students dressed up as their favorite teachers while the teachers dressed up as their students. Hijinks abound. A volleyball tournament was held as Dylan & Da Boyz and The Girls faced off in the championship match, with The Girls claiming victory.
Friday was another new idea for the celebration known as Rhyme Without Reason, and 130 students spent Friday at the WOW Zone. The new theme played on dressing up as words that rhyme, but wouldn’t technically make much sense together, such as “Tall Mall Ball” or “Rice Spice Ice.” Needless to say, the students took great pride in creating the rhymes while the teachers worked to decipher them. Nobody tried to rhyme Orange with Door Hinge, but it’s possible.
For the entirety of the Snow Week celebration, the Student Council worked with Ashley Miller and Carrie Altomari to plan and coordinate the events and create fresh ideas to keep students engaged. Miller was thrilled with how the week went. “It was a blast to interact with the students all week. All of the hallways were decorated really well this year, and people really liked the new themes; the teachers had fun dressing up as teens.”
Naturally, there were a few hiccups along the way as the week went on, but Miller had plenty to be thankful for. “We couldn’t have made this week possible without all of the members of the Student Council, the administration, Principal Bosshart, the kitchen staff for working adjusted lunch schedules, the custodians, and the tech department. Carrie and I couldn’t do this without all the support.”
All photos featured in this collage were taken by Ricardo Moreno Jr. and Megan Birr.
