Many events of the spring school year were canceled due to pandemic response, but the Student Council decided Olympics was a tradition that could not be broken.
The pioneers of the digital Olympics, senior Brooke West and junior Emily McDougall, began the process of converting the event to an online format the week before spring break in light of Covid-19 precautions and the shift to digital learning. However, most of the work did not kick in until two weeks before the events. Coordinating these events in such a short amount of time proved to be a challenge.
“Usually we have the entire year to plan, but we had to switch things up in such a small amount of time,” McDougall said.
The process involved frequent zoom calls with the leadership class and Principal David Morton to discuss activities and the logistics of getting students involved.
“We looked at what we were going to do for Olympics and said ‘what can we change to be at home, what can we still do?’ Most of it was quickly revamping and changing,” McDougall said.
Online Olympics kicked off with a new McGTV segment revealing the week to come and the long-awaited Senior Power video. The week consisted of around three to four daily at-home competitions (chalk art, teacher impersonations, prank wars, etc.) that students could make submissions through email and social media and dress-up days including the theme ‘Tiger King,” a fan favorite. Winners and updates were posted through an evening McGTV segment.
The week was full of students showing off their outfits, sharing their talents and creating digital memories.
In a time of uncertainty, West and McDougall saw this week as a chance to bring back a sense of normalcy and fellowship to the school community.
“I think it is important to keep school spirits up, especially in this tough time that we can’t see each other,” West said. “I think [Olympics] gives people something to do and look forward to.”