Pikesville High School students are out to prove they have more pep than any other high school in the country.
The Baltimore County public school is competing for the top spot in the “High School Musical 3” School Spirit Contest, a nationwide competition open to public and private high schools all over the nation. As of Friday, Pikesville High School held the No. 6 spot on a list of more than 50 competing schools.
And it’s not just the students who are participating — parents and teachers are getting in on the action too. “I have teachers, including myself, who now have a MySpace account, and we have kids helping us with the answers to the quizzes,” laughed Barbara Walker, Pikesville High School’s principal. “It’s been a lot of fun. Now we’re all just waiting to see what happens.”
Students, teachers and parents can vote in a variety of different ways, including texting, MySpacing, and uploading digital pictures and videos. Each submission earns a certain number of spirit points for the school. The school with the most spirit points will be chosen as the winner Monday.
Pikesville student Kelly Zafman, 16, emphasized the fact that every student is cooperating to win. “The entire school has really been pulling together, getting our friends and family to help, taking online quizzes and texting for points for the contest. Yesterday we had a big school pep rally. It’s been a big conversation piece and everyone is really bonding over this.”
The grand prize includes a weekend trip for up to 300 seniors to Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort, as well as a “High School Musical”-themed pep rally, complete with a live concert from singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield for the entire school.
Walker said that even if Pikesville doesn’t win, she’s happy that her students have shown that they can work together.
“Every time you buy a lottery ticket, it gives you the opportunity to dream, and that’s what I think this is for the students. They bought into the dream, and the dream is that if we all work together, we might be able to make this happen. It has a lot to do with school spirit and having a goal, and their goal is they want to win,” Walker said.
WEB EXTRA
For more information about the contest or to vote for Pikesville High School, visit myspace.com/hsm3.
