By: Danny Tow, Staff Writer
River Hill High School hosted Clarksville Elementary’s annual Cougar Day pep rally on Friday, May 4. It was a day filled with laughs, cheers, and an overall good time for everyone involved. I was curious to see what people really thought of this exciting event.
Sophomore Azariah Seblu played the euphonium for the band performance at Cougar Day. He said that the experience was a rewarding one.
“I really enjoyed inspiring these young children. I really feel like I had an impact on the future of this school.”
Senior Brett Kaplan, who played the drums, agreed. “It was so rewarding playing for the future of River Hill. I can’t wait to see these kids in the band in the future.”
Indeed, the band’s performance seemed to excite most, if not all, of the elementary schoolers. When student organizers asked the students if they played an instrument, and wanted to join the band in high school, many of them raised their hands and cheered.
Speaking of cheering, the cheerleaders brought loud cheers from the students. Junior Rebecca Blau said the entire day was a positive event.
“It was really fun, and the kids were a great audience,” Blau said after the cheerleaders’ performance.
The Hawk and Cougar mascots certainly agreed. While they both declined to comment for this article, the Cougar could be seen jumping up and down along with the beat of the music as the cheerleaders performed, while the Hawk (looking quite different than he has before) high fived the cheerleaders as they ran off the field.
The day conjured fond memories for several River Hill students who have participated in Cougar Day in the past, when they were students at Clarksville Elementary.
Junior Chris Fazzari said that he remembers Cougar Day as a “fun and engaging experience that brought the whole school together.” Many of the current elementary schoolers seemed to agree with that opinion, as they loudly cheered for and alongside their classmates while participating in fun games such as a Football Toss and Soccer Shootout.
Many of the Clarksville Elementary teachers seemed excited not only to see their current students having fun, but also their former students leading the festivities with such poise and aplomb.
Clarksville teacher Hilary Becker said that it was a gratifying experience seeing so many of her ex-students all grown up.
“It makes me happy to see so many former students thriving in high school, yet still supporting their old elementary school. I wish more of them wore name tags though. Everyone is so big!”
Overall, Cougar Day was a roaring success, with everyone from the elementary school students to the high school students to the teachers to the mascots have an awesome time.