Looking back at the 2019 to 2020 school year, it’s hard to only ponder about the ways that the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected students and, unexpectedly, cut the year short.
However, students can’t just erase all of the notable memories they created with friends and staff members for the past eight months through special events, activities, and rallies—each making MLEC’s school year hard to forget and easy to remember.
School Spirit
At the beginning of the school year, MLEC started off strong with a total of two pep rallies: a back-to-school rally and a spirit week rally.
In the first rally in September, there was a grand introduction of the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes—battling each other in fun activities while showing their prideful colors in the stands. As usual, when calling in the classes the sophomores and upperclassmen were able to boo the freshman while the seniors screamed their heads off when it came to their turn.
When Spirit Week came around, there was the addition of a second pep rally—that came along with a special surprise—and an annual Hallway Competition. For five days, MLEC student’s creativity shined through their outfits for every theme day that was announced. From bikers versus surfers to decades day, it was hard not to miss these special outfits during lunchtime—each unique in their own way.
By the end of the week, the second pep rally of the year came forth with an unannounced surprise by staff members: a new mascot. This new Jaguar bounced its way to the center of the gym with a spotlight directed right on them—showcasing our new friend for the next few years.
Lastly, this year’s Hallway Competition had an announced theme of Continents: the seniors had Asia, the juniors had Australia, the sophomores had South America, and the freshman had Europe. For tireless hours after school, students worked hard to design a perfect hallway. By the end, seniors won the competition with juniors following in second place.
Class Spirit
Despite the underclassmen not being able to have their end of the year field trips and upperclassmen not experiencing their end of year activities, there were still plentiful events that took place in the first half of the year.
For juniors, there was a new addition of Junior J’s worn in the second pep rally—bringing in a wave of class spirit throughout the day. For seniors, they were still able to participate in senior crowning for the first few days of school, senior social in the morning, and senior brunch at the Rusty Pelican.
A New Jaguar: Yaset Fernandez
With a fresh start to the year 2020 came a new Jaguar to MLEC, Yaset Fernandez, who is now the new principal. Mr. Fernandez brings his experiences in the realm of education and is more than ready to continue his job into the following school year.
Even three months into this school year, he introduced a sweet and salty idea to honor those that earned Principal Honor Roll in the second quarter. Crepes—a type of very thin pancake—were awarded to these achieving students to show their appreciation for their hard work. They were able to choose one sweet and one salty crepe—both great for their enjoyment.
Annual Dances and Shows
Every school year, two different clubs in MLEC host a show: the Hispanic Heritage Club and the Black History Club. Each of these shows was presented during Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month to commemorate their heritage or race.
With a great number of choreographies, singers, and soloists, each showcased a wonderful performance for Jaguars to enjoy and later brag about to other friends around the school—creating a great appreciation for each culture and race.
Hosted by SGA, there was the annual dance Harvest Fest—a popular dance across many schools—as well. With a Haunted House, delicious food, and great music, it never fails to be the best and most attended dance of the year.
Special Days
Throughout the year, there are scattered designated days that have made this year extra special.
Every Friday, SGA hosted Game Day which included a vast amount of board games, video games, music, and jumbo-sized activities for all to participate in available in front of 3rd building during lunchtime—an addition that has brought joy and an activity to look forward to every Friday.
Although there was not a Volleyball Tournament this year, there was a Basketball Jam where all grades competed in basketball games against each other for the title to brag about. Taking place after school, the stands were filled with students and a few parents to watch players and proudly cheer them on.
Lastly, Julius Eisenstein, a Holocaust Survivor, visited our school and stood in front of 300 students on his 100th birthday. Moving many to tears, Eisenstein spoke about his experience and advocated his desire to prevent such levels of hate that we see now.
In essence, the turn out of this school year might not have been one that we were expected to experience—losing a total of four months that would have added many more experiences to the list of fun memories. Yet, this year still managed to go down into MLEC Jaguars’ history book—imprinting a paw of hope for the rest to come.
