More Spirit Days

More Spirit Days Connect to Higher Academic Achievement

By Sports Editor, Bella Derasmo (Class of 2026)

How fun it is to walk into school on the first day of Spirit Week and see everyone dressed in their costumes. Posters in the hallway read, “The theme for Monday is: Main Character Monday!” Your friend is dressed up as Gatsby from “The Great Gatsby.” All the teachers dress as their favorite movie characters from movies they watched as kids. They laugh as all the students try to figure out who they are. You and your friends dress up as characters from Finding Nemo and The Lorax. You look around, and the hallways are filled with joy. Students are excited to go to school during Spirit Week. Why not have them more often?

Bishop O’Connell is allowing ten dress down days for students this year. That means ten days out of the ten months we are in school, students are allowed to dress according to the theme of the day or dress in clothing of their choice, within the dress code. While this is a privilege in itself, and as students we wouldn't want to ask too much, there are benefits to having dress down days for both students and faculty. 

To elaborate on that, the Connecticut Association of Schools wrote that 92 percent of principals believe that “High school spirit is tied to high student achievement” (School Spirit). The Varsity Brands commissioned Harris Poll to survey around 1,000 high school students, around 300 parents of high school students, and a little more than 100 high school principals across the United States to share their thoughts on spirit days and school pride. This poll proved how more spirit days are connected to students becoming stronger leaders and reaching higher in their academics. 

The poll concluded that 75 percent of students with high levels of school spirit perform above average in academics while only 7 percent of students with low levels of school spirit also perform above average. One principal in the poll exclaimed that, “School spirit is the heartbeat of the school.” The poll concluded that 87 percent of students get more involved with the community and 90 percent are more likely to become leaders. 

While wearing uniforms every day gives students a sense of community and gives a few more minutes to sleep in in the morning, spirit days are important. Bishop O’Connell prides itself on our mission to spread joy. Spirit days are when O'Connell's joy is most prevalent in the students and faculty. Why not take advantage of those soaring percentiles to make more leaders in the school and make our students become higher level achievers.

In just ten days out of the school year, students reach a little higher in their academics and their pride to be a Knight. Only ten days, but what if we gave students five more? They would start reaching higher and higher. Having school pride is what spirit days give students. They bring nothing but pure joy and positivity to O'Connell's campus, and everyone in the community saw it first hand last week. When students feel a sense of pride and success within their campus it drives them to want to become more involved. The students with the most school spirit are the ones who stay after school and meet with teachers for help or go participate in clubs and sports. 

If O’Connell’s mission is truly to spread joy and be a high achieving academic school, our school spirit must not be lacking. Spirit days should be a priority. 

Citation- School Spirit: The Connection between Student Achievement, Involvement and Confidence. https://www.casciac.org/pdfs/School_Spirit_White_Paper-FINAL.pdf