Spirit Week Memories
校园精神周回忆
Apart from the Pep Chapel and parade preparations, theme days, hard work, and fun, teachers use Spirit Week as a theme in their classes. And so, on Thursday morning, after having celebrated class themes in Chapel, I was distracted from a meeting by two boys throwing a football in front of my office. It was about 10:00 a.m., and I wondered why they were not in class. When I went outside to talk to them, I noticed a third boy filming. They were, they said, recording a clip to include in a Humanities presentation on school culture, and they were using this clip as a way to talk about Spirit Week. Their genuine giddiness during the recording was typical of many throughout the week, as Humanities classes learned about the rivalry by going through our school archives. This Humanities film was not the only video being produced for a class this past week. Two seniors, Selena Porter and Pablo Gonzalez Rotger, asked if I would do a brief clip about my favorite part of Spirit Week. This request caused me to pause and think about all of the components of this week that make it so special. After 34 Spirit Weeks, I have a lot of memories.
校园精神周除了Pep礼堂活动、游行准备、主题日活动以及繁琐的工作和乐趣之外，教师们也会以精神周作为他们的主题课堂。因此，在周四早上，在礼堂庆祝了主题课堂之后，办公室前面两个踢足球的男孩分散了我的注意力。当时大约是上午10点，我不知道他们为什么不上课。当我出去和他们谈话的时候，我发现还有一个男孩在录像。原来他们在录制一段用于校园精神周的视频，关于学校文化的人文演讲。录制过程中真正让他们头大的是整个精神周很多人都有精彩的表现，因为人文课就是要学生感受我们学校的人文情怀。这段有关校园人文的视频并不是过去一周内班级制作的唯一视频。两位十二年级学习，Selena Porter和Pablo Gonzalez Rotger问我是否能做一个简短的录像，讲述我最喜欢的有关精神周的事件。这让我回忆了使得精神周如此特别的所有事件。经历过34个精神周的我有了很多难忘的回忆。
The first things that came to mind were the things I loved during my 17 years as a Hilltopper Football coach. Each Homecoming Weekend, those memorable times start on Friday night after practice with the team dinner. Started by the Handy Family, this tradition has continued through the decades thanks to the generosity of people at NVRH, and it is highlighted by the fathers of senior players acting as servers for the delicious meal that is created by our Culinary Arts students and chef David Hale. Then, almost immediately after dinner, comes the parade down Main Street through crowds of community members with the band, cheerleaders, team, and class floats. As a coach, I especially loved the parade once my kids were old enough to walk in it; this year that was the case for my grandkids. Finally, and probably most of all, I loved game day. I loved the buzz around the field when I took special teams out to warm up, I loved the excitement and butterflies that came before each kick off, and I loved the explosion of cheers in the stands when one side or the other made a big play (OK, maybe just when our team made a big play).
我首先想到的是我17年来一直热爱的Hilltopper橄榄球教练经历。每逢返校周末活动，那些难忘的记忆就在周五晚上和球队练习后的晚餐中不断涌现出来。得益于NVRH人们的慷慨，这个传统从Handy家族开始至今延续了几十年，并且晚餐是由我们的烹饪艺术学生和主厨David Hale共同制作的，值得一提的是，担任服务员的是十二年级运动员的父亲们。紧接着在晚饭后，游行队伍开始沿着主街道穿过人群，而且人群中有乐队、啦啦队员以及球队和班级花车。作为一名教练，我的孩子们到了可以参加游行的时候是我最骄傲的，而今年是我的孙子们参加游行。我最喜欢的还是游戏日，我喜欢我带球队去热身时场上的呐喊声，我喜欢每次开球前的助威声，也喜欢看台上一方或另一方得分时爆发的欢呼声（好吧，其实是在我们队得分的时候）。
In my 18 Spirit Weeks as headmaster, I have added a few other events to my favorite Spirit Week memories. I love the energy in the hallways on Thursday night as crowds of classmates pack in to help build a spirit-themed display while music blasts. I love being a part of Pep Chapel as our cheerleaders—this year with record numbers and impressive new skills—help us rock Fuller Hall. As usual, many of the skits featured cameo performances by faculty and staff—retired teacher Fran Cone even came back to make a cameo in the Senior Skit! I love the Pizza Party as community members of all ages come to eat together, consuming untold amounts of free pizza served by the administrative team. I love the alumni gatherings, especially as we invite various affinity groups and teams back to celebrate Homecoming.
在我担任校长的18个精神周中，除了我最喜欢的精神周活动之外，还有一些其他难忘的经历。我喜欢周四晚上走廊里的活跃气氛，当音乐响起时，一群同学涌进来帮忙布置精神周主题展览会。我喜欢啦啦队员成为Pep礼堂日活动的一份子，以创纪录的队员数量和令人印象深刻的新技能，帮助我们将整个Fuller大厅的气氛点燃。像往常一样，许多短剧都以教职员工的脱口秀为特色，甚至还包括退休教师Fran Cone回来表演高级脱口秀！我喜欢披萨派对，因为所有年龄段的社区成员都聚在一起享受行政团队提供的无数免费披萨。我喜欢校友聚会，特别是我们邀请不同的团体和团队回来庆祝返校节。
But I still love the day of The Game the most, and one of the most memorable game days for me was last year’s, when SJA and LI joined hands after each school had celebrated a big anniversary and mourned tragic losses; we reminded ourselves that as great as our rivalry was, our community spirit was even greater. I saw this spirit throughout the day on Saturday, starting with the SJA versus LI field hockey games. Family members and friends, though cheering for players on opposite sides and some wearing green and some wearing maroon, stood together enjoying the day. I saw the same thing on the sidelines at the football game, especially at halftime and after the game. Perhaps most heartening were the number of Academy and LI players who stopped after the game so that families could take pictures of them together.
但我仍然最爱运动会的那一天，对我来说最难忘的是去年的运动日，SJA和LI两所学校都经历了重大的校庆活动，并且共同悼念悲剧中的惨痛损失。我们提醒自己，我们的社区精神和我们的竞争精神一样重要，甚至更为重要。我在星期六SJA和LI的曲棍球比赛中感受到了这种精神。所有的家庭成员和朋友们虽然各自为两边的球员加油，有些穿着绿色衣服，有些穿着栗色衣服，但是大家都站在一起享受着这元气满满的一天。我在足球比赛的场边也看到了同样的情况，尤其是在中场休息和比赛结束后，而最令人振奋的是SJA和LI两个球队的球员们在比赛后和家人一起拍照的时刻。
So the next time I am asked about my favorite memories, I will be ready, and on the top of the list will be this community spirit that made this rivalry one of the top four in the country—the best in the Northeast, the best in New England, and the best in Vermont. No matter what happens on the field, this spirit is something worth preserving in our schools’ historic relationship.
所以下次有人问我最难忘的记忆时，我会回答就是这种社区精神，正是这种精神使我们成为美国前四、东北部最好、新英格兰最好、佛蒙特州最好的团队。无论在球场上发生什么，这种精神都是我们学校历史长河中最值得保留的东西。
