Northside English teachers Mr. Michael Ferschinger and Ms. Monik Flores have launched a new colloquium this semester called Superfan Stampede. Its focus is on strengthening school spirit, especially by encouraging more students to attend sports games.
The colloquium brings together students to brainstorm ways our community can increase school spirit and foster greater student involvement.
Student Involvement
The idea for Superfan Stampede emerged as a result of concerns from students and teachers about how school spirit is expressed at Northside. While attendance at sports games is often used as an example, the colloquium emphasizes that school spirit goes beyond athletics and includes music, clubs, and other activities.
Ms. Flores said, “The thing with school spirit is that it has to be an across-the-board goal for students, no matter what social group you’re in or where it is you find yourself in terms of your interests. Everyone has to be invested in some capacity.”
One of the main goals of Superfan Stampede is to make more students aware of these events to increase attendance. “A lot of it does come down to a lack of awareness,” said Mr. Ferschinger. To increase awareness, members of Superfan Stampede created a large calendar that is displayed in the second floor atrium. Every week, the calendar is updated with game schedules and school events.
What’s Next
Mr. Ferschinger and Ms. Flores also emphasize that sports attendance is not the sole focus of their colloquium.
“The goal is not to make 90% of the Northside student body the most diehard basketball fans ever,” Mr. Ferschinger said.
Instead this colloquium is a part of a broader mission to introduce more collective positivity into school life.
According to Ms. Flores, “One of my goals since starting to work at Northside has been to cultivate joy… I want school to be thought of as a place full of community.”
Creating lasting change will take time, and both teachers acknowledged the challenges that come with Northside’s strong academic culture. “How do we confront what the school’s culture has been like for so long,” Mr. Ferschinger said. Still, they believe that small steps can build momentum if students are willing to be the first to show up and encourage others.
Students’ Thoughts
Students have also spoken about how showing up to sports games supports the community. Senior Ellis Korda, president of NCP TV, Northside’s sports broadcasting club, attends every game and sees how crowd energy affects players.
“I think it’s important to show support. As an athlete myself, when people feel supported, they play better. You feel better when you have people behind you, cheering you on. It also just shows that we’re a community and we care about each other,” said Ellis.
