Is the second semester starting out to be tiring and you’re ready for spring break–or worse, summer break? Well that’s why the Sam Barlow leadership class came up with Beardown week, which occurred on the week of February 10th-14th.

This is the time of year when people start to get tired of school and need some motivation to keep going. Leadership student Collin Shields states, “Beardown week is like our second homecoming, to give students the motivation to keep going”

In our school, we like to participate in spirit weeks, which is another reason for Beardown week: it gives people the chance to show their inner Bruin. Throughout the week, leadership chooses a theme each day for spirit week by voting as a whole class. They choose to do dress-up days and lunchtime activities.

Leadership student Alina Estrada explains, “We always want to be original, but also do something that we know lots of people will like.” The theme for Barlow’s 2020 Beardown is ‘Bruins all around the world.’

This theme is to leave no person out, so lots of people feel included here at Barlow. We know Barlow isn’t technically the most diverse school in the area, but we really want everyone to feel included. Themes included pajama day, flag day, wacky tourists, blue and gold, and beardown shirts.

Beardown week is a way for Barlow to celebrate all the students of our school and what they contribute to our school community.

“It is a way for the whole school to have the motivation to contribute and finish the second semester with pride in our school, Shields explains. One of the highlights of the week was the big basketball game against Gresham High, our rival. This rivalry brings out extra spirit throughout the week and anticipation of winning. We have these spirit weeks to get the superfans excited for the big game, and they also help create a better bond with each and every student.

Since Gresham is our big rival school, the game needs a lot of hype, and since a hype crowd needs hype students, Bear-down is the perfect event to get everyone excited for the game. It reminds people that school is supposed to be fun, not just somewhere we feel like we have to go. The more involved people feel, the more they are in the school and will want to represent it.

Beardown week was capped off with an assembly on Friday, Feb. 14th. Jaden Rai said, “This is our very first pre-game party, and basically it’s a huge community event held at Barlow before the game. We are going to have lots of food and drinks from vendors in our community, games for everyone to enjoy, and music to vibe to.” Leadership student Marley Seet explains, “I have a feeling this is going to be the best bear-down yet, ending with a big win against the Gophers.” 

Barlow students were looking forward to a week of fun and exciting activities here at Bar-low. We wanted everyone to feel welcomed and included during this past week. We wanted to make them less stressed and able to start off the second semester in a positive and fun way for all of the students.