Endless chants of “Sko Wood” reverberated through the field house gym as the first pep rally of the year commenced on Friday, Aug. 29, during Flex.

Students streamed into the gymnasium as Westwood Band’s rousing beats — featuring tracks such as Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars, the fight song, and the school song — blasted off the walls. Accompanying the award-winning musicians was Cheer, SunDancers, and the Warrior Pride Dance Team as they performed crowd-hyping choreography. As per tradition, the event kicked off with pep rally host Travis Dalrymple calling for both sides of the auditorium to holler school spirit phrases. Upon deeming the loudest, winning side, Coach Dalrymple directed cheerleaders to toss pizza boxes into the victorious crowd.

“We’ve been learning our stand tunes since the beginning of the year,” Band member Kieran Beltran ‘26 said. “It was just fun to get to show off our work from the first two weeks of the school [to the whole school]l. All except for one of our drum majors were new this year, so I think it’s been a learning curve for all of us, but we’re doing really well.”

Between performances and student engagement activities, representatives from certain organizations spoke about their activities. Stepping on the mat, Seniors Student Council (StuCo) Executive President Aiden Wen and StuCo Senior Class President Rheya Kurian addressed the student body about upcoming Homecoming plans. Following StuCo’s update, the Cheer team delivered an energy-filled routine to a mashup of party hits including Rock That Body by the Black Eyed Peas, hyping up the crowd.

“It was nice to see all the people in the school all together and [at] one event,” Nihal Grandhi ‘28 said.

A pep rally tradition, the scavenger hunt consisted of multiple recruited members from the audience being given prompts of objects to find in the audience. The participants who failed to complete the task quick enough would be eliminated in the hunt for the champion. Whether the prompt was to find a Hydro Flask or retrieve a sock with a Birkenstock, participants harnessed their quick thinking and speed to engage the whole audience. 

“I didn’t think anyone would give me their sock,” Scavenger hunt winner Anjali Robinson ‘28 said. “I was sure about the Birkenstock, but [not the sock]. The girl that gave me her sock, she was so hesitant and she asked me to grab it off her foot. It was so hilarious.”

The most uniquely accomplished task, however, was the winning prompt: take a selfie with the crowd. Since personal devices including phones are not allowed during the school day, it seemed like an impossible task. For Robinson, though, this task was a piece of cake. Bounding up the bleachers, she located an audience member’s digital camera and took a selfie, cementing her as a two-time scavenger hunt winner.

“I didn’t think I would get picked again [for the scavenger hunt] this year because I was also in Warrior Pride,” Robinson said. “I was in track last year and I run fast, so I was just making sure to connect with a lot of people in the audience, eyeing them and [getting] the items from them. I didn’t think I would [win] and I was really happy that I did.”

The pep rally ended with a bang, featuring the SunDancers, who executed a polished routine to a mashup of hype songs, including a hard-hitting remix of Who Let The Dogs Out by the Baha Men. Their smooth choreography this early on in the year was in part due to their countless hours of summer practice at line camp, consisting of four days of nonstop choreography practice. Finishing off the pep rally, the band played the school’s alma mater — a symbolic tribute to the school done at the end of each pep rally. As the bell rang, students rushed out of the gym in hordes as the band gave their final performance of the day, serenading the crowd.

“I think [the pep rally] fosters a lot of school spirit that is important throughout the rest of the year,” Beltran said.

While every pep rally is rich with spirit and exciting performances, the first pep rally is always a standout. The freshman class had their first taste of what Westwood is all about: celebrating school spirit by uplifting organizations that showcase grit, pride, and hard work. The pep rally gives new students a sense that Westwood is more than just one single area of learning — it’s a place of transformation.

“[My favorite part was] just seeing Westwood and all their pride and honor for the school, and everybody getting excited,” Robinson said. “Warrior Pride put a lot of dedication into [it]. We learned this combo. It was really wonderful to see my school and everybody cheering for [all] the [sports] teams.”