From kindergarteners through seniors, to parents and off-campus guests, the DIS community revs up for Spirit Week. Next week, Festa, originally hosted in May of last school year, joins the jam-packed week due to a change in schedule. Altogether, DIS hosts two assemblies, Festa, and a Halloween parade within a span of five days. Spirit Week takes flight from Monday, Oct. 28 to Friday, Nov. 1.

Mr. Jolly, head of school, explained the rationale behind the cram. “We realized, by [hosting the Festa] in May, we have to worry about AP exams, prom, moving up ceremonies, and graduation ceremonies—we just had too many events around that time with the Festa,” he said. 

Moreover, DIS administrators expect to relieve past complaints about high outdoor temperatures. “Hopefully the weather will be cooler, because the heat was definitely an issue last year…Especially, for the heat of May, we were never able to determine if it would be too hot,” Jolly said.

In addition to admin, members of the office staff pitch in on the plans and execution of such large-scale events. Ms. Hong, director of faculty and event services, said, “We definitely have a lot of events for Spirit Week. However, the events in May, like the Spring Fine Arts Festival and graduation, are much bigger and require more planning.” 

At the same time, new performances set the stage at the festival. Neighbors from Haeseo Elementary School will perform traditional Korean music, and gayageum music (historical Korean lap guitar) grace the stage. “We sent out a form to DIS parents about the performances in Festa. They recommended us performance groups that they were in touch with. Our students and parents really helped us prepare for the Festa,” Hong said.  

In addition to the date change, this year marks the establishment of a new Spirit Week day: ‘Anything But a Bag Day.’ The transition targets current trends to increase student participation. Mr. Jolly shared his experiences with the student council, “Each year the admin leaves one or two of the days for High School Student Council to come up with a thought on how that day would be. Sometimes we approve it, sometimes we don’t, but this year we decided we can give it a shot and pilot it.” 

Mr. Hutchings, High School Student Council (HSSC) advisor, outlined the process of the change. “For the past couple of years, the school changed Spirit Week to be strictly planned by the admin instead, because HSSC alone won’t be able to represent the opinion of the entire student body. This year is the first year that we started giving ideas to the administration again and I am 90% sure that a grade representative saw ‘Anything but a Bag Day’ on Instagram,” Hutchings said. 

While viral TikTok videos that display outrageous alternatives to backpacks add a twist, logistical concerns leave space for potential changes. Mr. Jolly said, “Some teachers who experienced it said it was great, others said it was too much when students brought really big containers which became problematic. So we limited it to something that would fit into a locker.” 

Other Spirit Week days offer a familiar blueprint, such as Pajama Day, Sports Day, and Halloween. Elementary schoolers will parade their scary costumes around campus on Thursday afternoon. All students and staff will wear Spirit Shirts for Friday’s Festa. Tuesday highlights Season 1 sports and academic achievements at the elementary and middle high school assemblies which occur in the morning and afternoon, respectively.

As Festa and Spirit Week approach, fans eagerly anticipate the results that these revisions will bring. “I look forward to seeing lots of talented performances, whether individual or group, and also just having a community event that we can celebrate and have a great time together,” Jolly said.