By: Kendra Danielson 

    As winter break approaches, Eisenhower is full of school spirit for the holidays. Students have been celebrating by participating in door decorating, gift giving, spirit week, and the first ever in-school volleyball tournament.  

     Students at Eisenhower have been excited to be getting back into the annual holiday door decorating contest this year. Each classroom had students who were working in advisory to create a Christmas or winter themed door in hopes of winning the competition, and to bring joy to others who pass by. Some classes focused on trends, or Christmas movies, while others were connecting with traditional holiday festivities. Last year, Ms. Walter’s advisory won the contest and celebrated with a pizza party. This year’s winner for door decorating was judged on December 13, and there were so many great doors that the Student Council judges awarded categorized prizes. The categories included, funniest: Mr. Musi, Mr. Pollard, and Mrs. Hunt; cutest: Mrs. Rouse, and Mrs. Bertolini; most creative: Mr. Myler, and Miss Howe; and the overall winner: Mr. Penley.  

     This holiday season also brought on a new tradition of the giving tree. The giving tree is to help ensure that everyone has a present to open Christmas morning. Students and teachers could take an ornament from the tree that described a specific gift, and return it unwrapped. Those who decided to donate brought the gifts in and a group of people led by Mrs. Holeva worked to get all the presents wrapped and out to the families before Christmas. 

     To raise the holiday spirit, Eisenhower participated in a spirit week before break, which took place the last week of school, starting December 18 and going through the 22. To kick it off, Christmas Spirit was the theme for Monday and that involved wearing red, white, or green. Following that, on Tuesday, students dressed up as their favorite Christmas character, such as an Elf, Reindeer, or Santa. Students wore their best ugly sweater for What not to Wear Wednesday. On Thursday, Eisenhower rocked their class colors by grade with sixth grade wearing gold/yellow, seventh grade silver/gray, eight grade blue, freshmen red, sophomores green, juniors black, and seniors white. For Polar Express day on Friday, students had the choice to wear pajamas to help support the Freshman class fundraiser. 

     On Friday, students who signed up participated in Eisenhower’s first ever volleyball tournament. The tournament took place in the gym in the afternoon, and the students involved began the tournament after lunch. The final two teams of six players faced off at the end of the day in advisory for the championship game, which was played in front of the whole school in an assembly.  

     With Student Council overseeing this event, they wanted to find a fun way to boost the student body morale and fundraise for the program. The Squire interviewed Mrs. Lobdell asking about how this tournament will benefit Eisenhower, and she shared, “We are hoping that by having a Christmas volleyball tournament, it will give students an opportunity to bond with their peers across multiple grades and have lots of fun!” She explained that Student Council hopes to make the tournament a tradition around Christmas break every year. 

     The Squire wishes you a happy holiday season, and a special thanks to Student Council for helping plan and organize events to make a fun, festive holiday season for Eisenhower.