Pep rally Friday kicks off Cedar Park game and new school year
Senior Bobby Dwyer dances in the midst of other crowding seniors after they won the Spirit Stick at the first Pep Rally of the year on Aug. 30.
The first pep rally of the new school year was Aug. 30 with performances by band, Hyline and the cheerleaders. For the incoming freshmen, this was the first real introduction into Westlake tradition. Freshman David Sablatura said that it was better than he expected.
“Coming from West Ridge, it seemed a lot more energetic, yet serious,” David said. “People wanted to be there more.”
Fellow freshman Nicole Cravey agreed with David and said that it was a drastic change from middle school pep rallies.
“At first I kind of expected everybody to be lame, like ‘I don’t want to cheer, I want to be cool’,” Nicole said. “But everyone was cheering and it was a lot better than I expected.”
Nicole said that the seniors booing the freshmen did not bother her at all, and she thought it was hilarious that the seniors turned their backs to the freshmen. David agreed, saying that he thought hazing was something that all freshmen experience.
“I felt a bit more welcomed [with the seniors booing us] because I feel like everyone goes through that as freshmen,” David said. “It didn’t really bother me at all.”
Freshmen weren’t the only ones who felt the Westlake spirit at the pep rally. Cheerleader senior Missy Loeffel said she noticed the high level of energy in the gym.
“It was really exciting to see my class really spirited because I know that sophomore and junior year we weren’t that spirited and we really stepped it up this year,” Missy said. “Everyone was really excited — getting all rowdy and rallied up. The football players were really excited about it, too.”
Band member junior Reed Burch said that he appreciates the spirit shown at pep rallies.
“Both the pep rallies and the football games are amazingly energetic and spirited,” Reed said. “My favorite part about today’s pep rally was probably the limbo and the anticipation of victory by a junior. I’m looking forward to the game tonight. Go Chaps!”
![Chaps orchestra performed a concert with a spooky twist Oct. 23, 2024 at the Performing Arts Center. The Halloween concert included scores from movies including Nosferatu, special performances with Chaps Theatre and Hill Country and West Ridge Middle School students and a costume contest.
"The concert is such a great way to engage the whole [orchestra] community and celebrate together," junior Miranda Xu said.](https://westlakefeatherduster.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/resized-edited-1J9A0048-600x386.jpg)
