Clash of the Classes is the annual competition between the different grade levels during the spring spirit week in which students work together to gain points through games and spirit.
Clash of the Classes was first started in 2016, with an Associate Student Body (ASB) student who had the idea. The friendly rivalry is meant to promote more school spirit and class unity.
In 2016, ASB decided to create two teams instead of the four that are currently in place. Freshmen and seniors were paired up against sophomores and juniors. The colors were blue and green and games such as dodgeball were played.
“We did [Clash of the Classes] again in 2019. And the colors were pink, gray, blue and black,” ASB teacher Lauren Prudhomme said.
Again in 2020, the competition evolved and the four different teams were created. Each team was assigned a color: freshmen were yellow, sophomores were green, juniors were blue and seniors were red. The final day of that week, which was supposed to be the spring pep rally, was scheduled for March 13, 2020. Unfortunately, this was the day the Covid pandemic started and everything was scheduled for online.
After the years following the pandemic, when school was back in-person, certain activities became more popular year after year.
Now, during the competition week, games played are dodgeball, Mario Kart and the boat race at the pool.
At the end of spirit week, students gather for the pep rally and the winning class is announced. The different grades also create a class music track, or a track in which they sing or rap about their specific class and this is played at the rally.
“I like the class tracks [which they are] trying to be more positive, because it used to be a diss track,” digital media arts and yearbook teacher Matthew Takeno said.
The class tracks used to be a diss-track, but this year they implemented a change and made the tracks more positive. The tracks are meant to uplift the other classes and form a strong sense of school unity.
Class tracks have been an ongoing tradition since they first started. Students love this tradition and always take the opportunity to star in the music video.
Most of the activities during the competitions have become traditions that will be continued for many years.
As the newer classes come in every year, the older students and teachers continue to see an increase in spirit and participation in the events.
“There has been a lot more spirit, which I’m very excited to see, and I know that even though I’m a senior, I know that the future years are going to be even more spirited. I can see our underclassmen [and they] take the spirit that we have and add it to a whole other level,” senior Ankur Parikh said.
Clash of the Classes has been a growing tradition that will continue to live on for many more years. This competition is a part of Woodbridge High that will not be lost.
