On March 29, Student Council (STUCO) sponsor Bob McKitrick announced that during quarantine there will be a virtual Spirit Week March 30 – April 3 to lift spirits and raise a sense of community , Instead of leading towards a hyped event such as homecoming, this spirit week’s purpose is to remind all of us that we are part of the Viking Nation even though we may not be physically together.

“This is all about positivity and school spirit during this difficult time. We hope you’ll consider participating,” said McKitrick.

The members in STUCO are on board with the plan and a flyer that has already been made on @_pnhstuco_ ‘s instagram page.  On Monday students and faculty will make a homemade meal and post/share it, Tuesday students and faculty will showcase a special talent particularly something they’ve been working on during quarantine, Wednesday students and faculty are encouraged to go enjoy the outdoors and post themselves exercising, Thursday students and faculty should post a throwback pic of  themselves, and Friday students and faculty should uphold the tradition and wear their purple viking pride.

“I really hope they [students] get involved because it’s a good idea in my opinion, but we had poor student participation in the past so my hopes aren’t too high for participation. It’s a ‘prepare for the worst, hope for the best’ type of situation,” said sophomore Mia Hamm, STUCO treasurer. 

Students are participating  this week as it gives them something to do rather than spirit weeks in the past.

“I think it’s a great idea. Whereas before I never participated in spirit week,  now I am because it’s giving me just a tiny bit more structure in my day and honestly that’s good enough to give me a little something to do during this time,”  said junior Matt Carnahan. 

Normally during this time, students would be attending school and teachers would be teaching, but instead a government shutdown has occurred, so while everyone is home the teachers at Parkway are encouraging students to reach out if they need any help.

“Nothing is normal during this time, and the best thing we can do is stay home, so it’s over quicker. All of us and my generation are lucky technology has come this far, so we can all stay connected, like this Spirit Week is trying to do,” said Carnahan

“The main idea behind it was connecting the student body during this time away from school and proving some normalcy. Since there’s no school, we are pretty limited  with what we can plan,” said Hamm. 

Students are already thinking about school changing next year and what will come of after this virus has run its course. 

“I think school will change because students will be grateful for school and their education and I think STUCO will change too and be excited to plan together again when this passes and plan more events,” said Hamm.

For now, students and faculty members can show their school spirit and connectedness by participating in the virtual spirit week.