MGCI held its first official Spirit Week of the year from 28 April to 2 May. Students participated in specific themes allotted to each day, ranging from Formal Day to Cultural Day. MGCI apparel could be substituted any day of the week for students who did not have the appropriate apparel for the respective theme.

The week kicked off with Formal Day which encouraged students to show up to school in formal wear. This was followed by Fan Day on Tuesday. Throughout the entire week, Spirit committee members distributed cookies to any Garneau student, regardless of whether they were participating in Spirit Week or not, in order to promote school spirit. Students were also introduced to the Cougar Board where students could write anything about themselves. These were photographed and later posted on the MGCI Student Council Facebook page.

Without a doubt, the greatest attraction of the week was the free food fair held on Wednesday in the galleria. Originally, the plan was to host a carnival out on the backfield for activities, however, due to the weather, the event was moved to the galleria where students were provided with free food. According to participants, the event set a limit of 1 samosa per person, however, this regulation was poorly enforced. In some cases, students walked away with 3 or 4. Other provided snacks included cookies, candy, and pancakes. Student Council and Spirit Committee swept up the galleria after the event.

Some students questioned the promotion of the event.

David Tang, a Grade 12 student said, “I didn’t even know it was Spirit Week until I saw people wearing Blue Jay’s stuff and I asked them what was going on. I mean, I didn’t hear about it until it started, so I assume they only promoted it through announcement and the occasional poster.”

When asked how Student Council could improve on the execution of this event, David replied “I think they should promote it more, and not just rely on announcements. A lot of people don’t have early period and miss out on the announcements, and are either too lazy to go to the bulletin board to check, or just simply don’t know it’s there.”

Other students like Sohrab Naderi thought that the event was exciting. “It was kind of amusing to see people dressing up for the Spirit Days”, the Grade 11 student said. It just brightens the school when people have fun like that. As for participation, I think it’s around the same as most other spirit weeks.”

The week wrapped itself up in burgundy, navy blue, and white – the school colours.

Spirit Convenor Khadija Aziz thought that “previous Spirit events have been more successful”, which include the Halloween Fashion Show and the Christmas Show. She added that though this was the case, “we created an additional sense of MGCI pride within the student body.”

Photos by Noor Mah.