Fun for the Fun of It

Homecoming week at Wakefield is something not to be missed. While we may be small in numbers we are big in spirit. An already confident and comfortable student body they put their inhibitions aside and fully embrace the theme dress days (this year character day, tacky day, color day, and red & white day). Virtually no one is too cool to participate which makes it all the more fun for everyone. In addition to “wild” dress each day there are lunch competitions at which kids eat and dance their way to victory by holding the most marshmallows in their mouths, walking the most funky, or retrieving the most Swedish fish from a whipped cream pie. As fun as these contests are they are far from the highlight of homecoming week on our little campus. The culminating event for the week is Friday’s pep rally, attended by all students in grades 1-12, during which each fall athletic team prepares a skit for the rest of the student body – at stake, bragging rights for an entire year, or 5 years if you are the cross country team which has won the competition every year for the last five years. [In the spirit of full disclosure I must admit that I am the cross country coach so I am more than a little biased. However, since my only involvement in the skit is providing some time for practice and my approval of the final product my bias is really only the result of an association with greatness rather than a contributor to greatness.] Over the last several years the skits, and the competition, have been elevated to a new level that now involves substantial plotting, secrecy, and practice in the days and weeks leading up to the competition thereby turning the pep rally into a frenetic dance competition.

You may wonder why the Director of Admission is spending time writing about a homecoming pep rally, other than to make clear her connection with the victorious cross country team. The reason is simple; one week of fun and games reminds me of many of the characteristics that make Wakefield such a special place. When I walk through the hallways and see the enthusiasm with which the students have embraced the dress up days I am reminded that they are not too worried about peer judgment, that it is “cool” to participate, in fact the fun is in participating. When I witness the students literally diving face first into a whipped cream pie I am reminded that the culture here pushes kids the give of themselves freely and enjoy the moments of pure fun. Finally, as I watch the teams perform their skits I remember that here the students feel safe to be themselves, they freely put their dance abilities (or significant lack thereof) on full display in front of the entire student body for nothing more than bragging rights. The students here can embrace homecoming week so fully because it is a safe and supportive place in which the students encourage each other to enjoy the moment and to be fully engaged; to be engaged is to be cool at Wakefield. The community is generally free of judgmental cliques of students, rather they revel in each others’ accomplishments and appreciate the risks students take in throwing themselves fully into an event or experience, like a homecoming skit.

This past weekend I had the chance to watch my one and half year old son experience pure joy as he went up and down a moonbounce slide for hours on end. He slid and bounced until he was delirious, not worrying at all if anyone thought he was having too much fun (is there such a thing) or if anyone thought a moonbounce was cool, he clearly did and that was all that mattered. As I watched him I thought about how magical such unchecked enthusiasm is and how unfortunate it is that so often kids worry more about what others will think if it looks like they are having fun than whether or not they are actually having fun. As I struggled to squeeze the moonbounce back into its impossibly small bag I lamented the fact that he will not always give himself over so fully to fun. But, then I was comforted in part by knowing that at least until he is a senior in high school he will be in school at a place where students do give themselves freely to fun and at least for a little while forget about being cool and just laugh.

So, thanks Owls for not being too cool for school!