With the end of the school year approaching, the anticipation for House Games is spreading throughout the building.
House Games will be held on May 13 during normal school hours. All Hayes students who have the house period on their schedule are allowed to participate, however, it is not mandatory to compete.
If students choose not to compete, they are still invited to watch their peers and cheer them on. The staff will also be able to watch the events throughout the day.
“The lip sync battle is always a very entertaining one to watch,” Houk House Dean Kathy Kraus said. “I just like bouncing around between all of the different activities because you see such a wide variety of talents that our students have.”
House Games is very similar to the “field day” that everyone experienced in elementary school. There are many different events, which highlight many different talents, going on throughout the day.
“It’s just a cool way to showcase different things that aren’t generally showcased in different extracurriculars,” Kraus said.
An example of this is the “Project Runway” competition, where students compete to make garments out of unconventional materials.
Many students enjoy this event, including senior Carmen Cockerham, who said she competed in 2019 and plans on doing it again.
With only one class at Hayes having experienced house games, many students aren’t sure what to expect. However, most students are still excited to have this experience.
“[I’ve heard that] it’s very fun and many people enjoy it…I’m looking forward to all of it,” freshman Kara Glesenkamp said.
The staff at Hayes is looking forward to seeing so many students competing for the first time.
For students who have competed before, the day will look very similar to the House games of the past. However, there will be a few changes in the events that take place, but that has not been finalized.
Some of the seniors have already started planning what events they will do.
“I really want to do the lip sync battle this year,” Cockerham said. “That’s the one competition that everyone stops what they are doing and goes to watch, because it is always amazing.”
The seniors at Hayes are grateful to have this opportunity to bring houses together again before they graduate.
“My favorite part of house games definitely has to be just how everyone comes together for one goal, which is to win, so that’s obviously fun,” Cockerham said. “But I like how we all unite as one house.”
To underclassmen, the biggest piece of advice is to just participate.
“Sign up for something,” Kraus said. “Even if you think ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough,’ sign up. You’ll have fun.”