There comes a time at Brighter Horizons Academy when students and staff can come together and relish in the spirit of their school. And that time is none other than Spirit Week. Spirit Week is a time-honored tradition at Brighter Horizons Academy, but with tradition comes innovation. Our Student Council (STUCO) members needed to come up with something that the student body would enjoy, but would also adhere to the school’s guidelines. Let’s see what they did, and how they did it.
2026’s Spirit Week ran from February 9th to February 13th and consisted of various days students and faculty could dress up. On Monday, students and staff could pick someone to dress alike with. On Tuesday, people could wear jerseys. On Wednesday, people could wear cowboy outfits. On Thursday, people had the option to either dress up as their career choice or wear a sweatshirt from their dream college. On Friday, people could show off their culture by wearing traditional clothing.
Dress-up days were not the only feature of Spirit Week. Students could also enjoy various activities throughout the week. From Monday to Friday, students could answer trivia questions relating to the school’s history (i.e. how many classrooms it consists of, how many students are in BHA, etc.), and get their photos taken at a photo booth. From Monday to Thursday, students could also partake in a scavenger hunt. Lastly on Friday, students could turn in a work of art for an Islamic art competition.
STUCO members Hanna Ali, Urooj Ashraf, and Inayah Qureshi were in charge of this year’s Spirit Week. They had the responsibility of making sure this Spirit Week was the most exciting one yet. Witnessing prior Spirit Weeks, they had an idea of what they liked and disliked. “Every Spirit Week, I love how enthusiastic kids get about dressing up and participating in activities. For this year, I wanted to leave a lasting impression, having a week that no one forgets,” Qureshi said. “I liked…the whole idea and culture of Spirit Weeks. [They’re] fun and especially [fun] in a smaller school…you really can see everyone’s costumes and stuff. What I disliked is…the repetition of the same themes over and over again. For this year’s Spirit Week, I wanted to bring new activities and energy to try to make it as fun as possible for students,” Ali said.
However, the three students faced obstacles behind the scenes while making Spirit Week a success. “A challenge I faced was…[disorganization],” Ashraf said. “[The] toughest part was…getting different ideas approved….that took time,” Ali said. “[We faced challenges like] complications with events like the scavenger hunt, miscommunication about certain items bought…” Qureshi said.
If they could go back and change things, the team said:
“I would ask students what type of days they want…” [Ashraf]
“I would make it more epic!” [Qureshi]
“[I would have] more direct communication…” [Ali]
“…Everything went quite well….I think the students enjoyed it, which is the most important part,” says Ali.
Ultimately, every year, Spirit Week will come and go. And thanks to our hardworking students and staff, each one is promised to be better than the last!
