With screaming crowds, cheerleaders soaring through the air, pep tunes playing at full blast, and updates on various events and occasions, pep rallies are one of the driving forces behind the school’s spirit.

“To prepare for a pep rally we typically have meetings in Mrs. Hunt’s classroom and we just talk about all the games we want to play and ideas that we think would work to have more spirited, fun pep rallies that include a larger part of the student body,” pep squad member Payton Marley said.

Without the planning and creative contributions of Student Council’s pep squad, many of the games and events which take place during these rallies would not be possible.

“Pep squad is something new at Argyle this year, and it’s something to really elevate our school spirit and our school’s awareness about the different events going on,” pep squad member Jake Pool said. “It’s really just to excite the students and get everyone hyped about what’s going on in the school.”

Pep squad is a new addition to the Student Council program this year, and it was originally formed by Student Council sponsors Karly Pancake and Daina Hunt.

“[Mrs. Hunt and I] both had noticed, even from the beginning of the year, the decline in spirit and that students weren’t participating, so it was kind of a solution to that problem,” Pancake said.

The team is made up of 6-7 members, including sophomore class president Parker Weitzer, who devote their time to planning events and games for Friday’s rallies.

“It’s fun to get the crowd hyped because if the crowd’s dead then the pep rally isn’t going to be fun,” Weitzer said. “It’s just fun when you’re actually involved in the pep rallies.”

The games coordinated by the pep squad help to engage the school and promote a communal atmosphere.

“We did a game at last week’s pep rally to include teachers and students racing against each other, so it was a relay race,” Marley said. “It just kind of brought teachers and students eye-to-eye and brought everyone together, rooting for their students or teacher.”

It takes a special breed of student to be a member of the pep squad and a tireless devotion to improving the school environment and bringing people closer together.

“In order to be on the pep squad you have to be energetic, outgoing, accepting, excited, have a lot of spirit,” Pancake said. “You have to be willing to put in some extra work, and you have to be a leader in our school for sure.”

Pep squad, even as a new addition to the school, has already become an integral part of the town as a whole, and the program will most likely continue to thrive for years to come.

“I think pep squad brings the school closer together by trying to make it a more fun and safe environment for the whole school,” Marley said. “And I think we bring everyone together by trying to just have more enthusiasm about all the sports teams and all the activities that Argyle has.”