This Friday, April 7, marks ASFA’s annual Get Active Day, a single day at ASFA dedicated to promoting health and the culture of the school. Students are able to relax from the workload and enjoy some fun activities in the building, and sometimes off-campus. But this year’s off-campus activities are a bit limited due to ASFA’s first-ever pep rally.
The pep rally will be held from 1-1:30 p.m. in the courtyard, showcasing a cheer or skit of some sort from each grade.
The Star spoke with Health and Wellness Coach Isaac Hill about the event.
“Traditionally, I get students to help me plan for Get Active Day,” he says. “I think [a pep rally] had been in conversation before, but this year, it was just a push to do something that was really student-centered.
“Student Council [had been talking about] school spirit. [Student Council and the administration] thought a pep rally would be the best way to promote school culture.”
Each grade has also been assigned a color to wear in order to represent their spirit. Seniors are instructed to wear black, juniors wear pink, sophomores wear purple, and freshmen wear white. As for the middle schoolers, 8th graders are given white and 7th graders wear blue.
Unfortunately, ASFA’s beloved faculty and staff have not been assigned a color. As Coach Ike says, “That’s why I was depending on Student Council. It never crossed my mind to make the faculty wear a color. I’m partial to Alabama crimson or UAB green. I’m sure there are some Auburn fans who would not like that… so we’d probably have to send out a Google form.”
Beginning more new traditions for Get Active Day, ASFA’s annual Powder Puff dodgeball game will be held directly after the pep rally from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Typically, junior vs. senior female students compete, leaving male students to perform a choreographed cheer during halftime.
The Powder Puff dodgeball game was traditionally held after school, but that limited the number of students who could participate. Coach Ike comments on the history of Powder Puff, saying, “[Students] used to play flag football, which was something everybody couldn’t do, [so it] evolved into a dodgeball game. It really didn’t have drawbacks [regarding] not being able to participate.
“It’s all fun with the guys doing cheers … and lets students take a break,” he says.
This year’s Get Active Day offers fewer activities than in previous years. The inclusion of the pep rally and Powder Puff eliminated some familiar options like self-defense and dancing classes due to timing constraints. Coach Ike explains, “[The administration] did want to offer something to students who probably wouldn’t feel comfortable cheering or just [being] outside.
“Me coming in and trying to develop it every year, it gets interesting trying to find new activities. This year, having a lot of the student involvement trying to do something different, I just hope it transfers… Students can really relate to get a traditional high school feel for the first time. As far as [ASFA] culture, I think it’ll help.”
All the new changes to the typical Get Active Day have Coach Ike anticipating the student body’s reaction. How well this Friday goes will determine the structure of the program in the coming years.
The day will operate like a typical FOCUS schedule day. Students will complete their core classes consecutively before moving to lunch or specialty.
Sign-up sheets for Get Active Day activities can be found in the cafeteria, so be sure to sign-up during your lunch period. However, if you plan to remain on campus — perhaps participating or spectating Powder Puff, playing ping-pong in the Black Box Theater, or playing basketball in the courtyard — no sign-up is required. Simply move to your preferred activity. Students leaving the building and going around the city with chaperones — say to CityWalk for pickleball — will meet in the DJD lobby and leave the building at 1:30 p.m. directly after the pep rally. This does mean, unfortunately, that students leaving the campus will miss the Powder Puff game.
Whether you’re a part of Powder Puff, playing GaGa Ball in the Health and Wellness room, or going into CityWalk, ASFA can’t wait to feel that school spirit this Friday.
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