GREENFIELD – For the entire school year, the Class Cup has been giving weekly competitions for students to brawl for their class. Students at Greenfield High School reflect on their experiences with this event, along with any revisions for it.
Each week, the Class Cup provides students a variety of challenges ranging from a ten-second talent showcase to a workout challenge. A majority of them are created by the Class Cup Subcommittee, although as of recently, clubs like the Library Club and the GHS Band hosted some events. However, what is the purpose of these competitions?
“The Class Cup was designed to allow students to still feel connected to GHS, as they all compete in the same activities while being remote,” states Angela Mass, the advisor of the Student Council. “We continue to survey the staff and students and are always evaluating the process. Future competitions will try to focus on things that can be completed during advisory.”
A range of students commented on the mission statement by Mass – both positive and with some critique.
“I think that the Class Cup has been having mixed reviews. For the people who have been able to participate on a regular basis it definitely helps to make students feel more involved with the school,” claims Autumn Bross, a senior. “But still, most of the student body doesn’t seem to be taking part, and in that way it has not been successful.”
“I'm not too sure what the definition of school spirit is, but if it's a sense of belonging and pride for the school then I wouldn't say it’s being strengthened,” disagrees Eric Kelly, a sophomore. “To me, the Class Cup is more of a thing that just seems kinda fun to do and doesn't really mean a whole lot to me.”
Participation is essential to the success of the Class Cup. The amount of students and staff who participate in the project correlates to how strong a sense of community is during remote learning.
“I sometimes participate in the Class Cup competitions. It depends on the competition and how busy I am,” admits Alara O’Bryan, another senior at GHS. “I like being able to contribute to something. I think the only thing that makes it feel a little less impactful than it did in school is that it’s not really tangible anymore. There’s not much to be done about that, sadly.”
“I compete in the Class Cup when I remember to do so. It is easy to remember if the competitions are interesting to me,” adds senior Shane Subeldia. “I often don’t do competitions because I am focusing on scholarships and college instead.”
Many interviewees claim that they would participate more in the Class Cup competitions if they were aimed more at their interests and hobbies rather than simple minute challenges. Since the general student population is relatively busy, the project needs to find a way to hook them in. Students even provided solutions to solve this issue, along with some other improvements to the project.
“I would love to see more school challenges on Google Forms,” suggests Lucy Karieva, a sophomore. “They are fun and happen at a convenient time: advisory.”
“To improve the Class Cup, allowing late submissions would be great since it is difficult for most students to meet the deadline on time,” proposes Subeldia. “Deducting a small amount of points from the late submissions would be a good way to balance this out while still allowing more participation.”
“I personally think communication about the Class Cup activities could be a little better,” advises Eric Kelly. “I'm not sure whether this is a problem with teachers, or maybe students are just not hearing it. Most of the time I can't even tell if the Class Cup has been mentioned in advisory, and some of my friends have the same problem.”
“We continue to survey the staff and students and are always evaluating the process,” confirms Mass.
If you want to see the Class Cup hopefully flourish and continue throughout the years, the best method is to simply attend a Class Cup Subcommittee meeting. It is open to all students regardless of grade or club memberships and provides an opportunity to give ideas for challenges and improvements. The group meets every Thursday at 4 p.m.