On Monday, May 13th, Clash of The Classes was held at Bellevue High School. Clash of the Classes was a tradition started in the late 1990s and was held for roughly 10-11 years. Mrs. Good and Ms. Claiborne, Student Council Advisors, shared how staff members who had participated in Clash of the Classes felt it was an event worth bringing back, so 3 years ago, in 2022, it was held again and the annual tradition was back.
Preparations begin in the fall to make sure everything is in order. Mrs. Good and Ms. Claiborne shared, “We just want to make sure that we have everything in order and ready to go when it is time. Our favorite part of planning Clash of the Classes is to see it all come together and in the end that everyone can enjoy a nice, fun, and relaxing day outside.”
There are six event stations that classes participate in: Punt and Pass, Bucket Brigade, Water Balloon Toss, Plank Walking, Soccer Shoot Out, and Tug of War. Students are in team rooms by their grade. Each team room competes to select a winner to represent their grade against the other grades in the championship round. Outside of the events, there are other activities for students, such as chalk drawing, Spike Ball, and Can Jam.
When asking students which event is their favorite, the answers are mixed. Out of 10 students, three said the punt and pass was their favorite. Another said soccer was their favorite, while two others said tug of war was their favorite. The Bucket Brigade is always a big event when it comes to Clash of the Classes as three other people say it was their favorite. All of the students had great things to say about Clash of The Classes including what they liked most about it.
Senior Jonah Kadow said, “I would say my favorite thing about Clash of the Clashes is to see all the classes coming together as one to compete. It builds chemistry within the classes as a whole and gives them a chance to compete against other classes.” Junior Allye Schluchter shared, “I think it’s a fun experience for everyone. I don’t know why anyone would want to get rid of this in the first place [originally in the early 2000s]. It only brings positivity around the school. Many students were able to be competitive while still having great sportsmanship during the event.” Kadow shared what he does when not competing in an event, “Most of the time I just hang out with my friends and if I’m not doing that then most people have different games around the football field, and I will just play one of those.”
While the events are for fun, there is an important competition piece to the Clash of the Classes as two championships are on the line. The first is being the class that wins Clash of the Classes. The second is the points earned during this event count towards the overall Spirit Point Tally that the classes earn throughout the year. Points for this come from other things such as dressing up during spirit week and cheering the most at pep assemblies.
The seniors were last year’s Clash of the Classes champions and they were ready to defend their title. There was some bragging going on with chants of “2-time champs are here” and “time to 2-peat.” The seniors may have started these champs to brag, but they backed it up and were crowned the Clash of the Classes Champions for the 2nd year! However, the sophomore class was able to pull through and be spirit point champions for this year. Congratulations to both classes!
The Clash of the Classes event was very successful again and everyone had a great time. With the seniors graduating, who will be crowned the champs next year?
By: Seth Bova
#gored #redpride #clashoftheclasses #spiritpoints
Bellevue High School 