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As we near the end of this semester, let’s take a look back on some of the events that have occurred this fall. Many were annual traditions, some were newly instated, and others were once in a decade opportunities for Poudre High School. From Homecoming week to the regional Esports tournament, the fall semester of 2022 has been one to remember.
Homecoming Assembly
In September, we had an incredible Homecoming assembly orchestrated by our amazing student council to set off Homecoming week. Laurel Needham, a member of the Poudre High School student council, names this event as her favorite StuCo lead event of the year so far. Needham writes, “The games had me laughing so hard and I thought the energy was great. The whole school [was] there participating, having fun, cheering on PHS's sports teams and being engaged!”.
Laurel Needham, a member of the Poudre High School student council leading the Homecoming pep rally
Photo credit: Isaac Morley
At this Homecoming assembly, there were many competitions involving the students. Roller Skating with cups of water, an extremely intense game of musical chairs that ended in full blown battle, and an impressive cheer performance that included several impressive throws.
The Poudre High School cheer team at the Homecoming pep rally
Photo credit: Isaac Morley
This assembly was the first big all-school event in quite a while due to the incredibly unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic that hindered many people’s ability to gather in large groups. Although the past few years have been incredibly difficult for many, the Homecoming pep rally introduced a feeling of normalcy into the school routine. Jarin Clapp, a member of the Poudre Press even describes this event as a “...great cataclysm,...a chance at re-birth, [and] a chance to regain the lost experiences,” (Clapp). Although it may not seem like such a big deal, this pep rally offered up a lot of hope for the future, as we return to normal activities.
Musical chairs game played during the Poudre High School Homecoming pep rally
Photo credit: Isaac Morley
The weekend after this event, Poudre hosted the 2022 Homecoming dance, the first Homecoming in two years where the event was able to be hosted inside the Poudre High School building, due to previous Covid-19 precautions.
Poudre Football and the Canvas Football Game
Is there anything better than the epic highs and lows of high school football?
This year, Poudre’s football team absolutely shone with a 210% increase in victory percentage from last year(MaxPreps). One of these incredible wins was in the Canvas stadium football game against the Rocky Mountain High School Lobos, with a devastating final score of 34 to 7. The Poudre Impalas scored the first points with a touchdown in the first quarter and continually stayed ahead of the competition.
The Poudre High School football team against Rock Mountain High School at the Canvas stadium football game.
Photo Credit: Sonny Nesmith
Poudre Girls Cross Country Went to State
On October 29 the Poudre High School girls cross country team went to state for the first time since 2010! The girls that qualified were Freshman Zola Morgan, Sophomore Leah McDonald, Juniors Autumn McCorkel and Shirley Weaver, and Seniors Norah McDonald, Sophia Rose Kirby, Morgan Hoggan, and Selia Hockhalter. Most of these girls qualified at the regional meet which was also attended by runners from Fossil High School, Loveland High School, and Fort Collins High School. At the state meet, Leah McDonald was Poudre’s top finisher, placing 73rd out of 150 runners. When asked what she took away from this meet, Norah McDonald said, “Something I took away from the State meet was that all of our hard work throughout the season was paying off, we could rely on each other to run our best, and have fun!”. If you are interested in joining cross country for next season, Norah McDonald recommends it wholeheartedly citing how welcoming it is and the, “fun team atmosphere,”. Anyone of any ability is welcome! Feel free to contact Mrs. Christensen, our athletic director, at careyc@psdschools.org!
Esports Qualified for Regionals
For the first time, the Poudre High School Esports team went to regionals for League of Legends! The top sixteen teams in the western region were invited, and the Poudre High School Esports team was in thirteenth place. Although Poudre High School had an Esports team last year, there was a conflict with another team which made Poudre unable to qualify for regionals. For a newer sport at Poudre, Esports is doing remarkably well, and is a group we should all support and be proud of.
I spoke to two members of the Esports team, Tristan Thomas and Isaiah Moore, about their hopes for Esports in the future, and what they want Poudre High School students to know about their team. One thing that Thomas and Moore wanted to express was how beginner-friendly Esports truly is. One of their players on the team last year was entirely new to the game and ended up doing incredibly well on their team. Tristan Thomas says, “ …it was being done in the region, so the western region which is from basically West of like Central of parts of Mexico and Canada and he was number two in the…region for KDA (Kill Death Average),”. The members also discussed how impressive the team has done especially for being a newer addition to Poudre’s sports teams.
NO PLACE FOR HATE MEETING
No Place for Hate logo from the ADL No Place for Hate Homepage
This year, a new program has been introduced at Poudre High School. The No Place for Hate ADL Education Program supports challenging harmful beliefs and biases and creating a community founded in inclusion and support. One of Poudre High School’s main beliefs is Ubuntu, which means, “I am who I am because of who we are,” (PHS). The No Place for Hate program was introduced during the second period on November 14th. By joining this program, Poudre is joining over 1,800 other schools that are also making this verbal commitment to fighting hate in high schools all over the United States (ADL).
FEED OUR FAMILIES
The Feed Our Families food drive is an annual event here at Poudre. There are canning shifts in which students gather donations of canned goods from people who would like to donate outside of grocery stores, and cash donations as well which are used to purchase fresh produce, feminine hygiene products, and other goods to be donated to members of our community. Laurel Needham, a member of the student council comments, “Feed Our Families is an amazing annual event that Poudre hosts during the holiday months. Volunteer turnout this year has been great- so many canning shifts have happened! The food collected is already crazy- there is SO much food. Our community has been so generous with donations of food. Classrooms around Poudre have also been contributing cash every Tuesday morning and there is a great turnout from that as well! I am so excited to feed the most families Poudre ever has this year and continue this amazing drive.” The food that is donated and collected can be seen stacked up against the walls near the flag hallway and media center. The Feed Our Families drive final shifts occurred over the weekend of December 2nd, and the final Distribution day will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 10th. Volunteers are always needed and are greatly appreciated!
Go Poudre!
Works Cited
Poudre High School: Home, https://phs.psdschools.org/. Accessed 4 December 2022.
ADL. “No Place For Hate.” NO PLACE FOR HATE | No Place for Hate, https://www.noplaceforhate.org/. Accessed 4 December 2022.
Clapp, Jarin. “Canvas Community Classic; Poudre High School Football Team Shatters the Competition.” Poudrepress, 5 October 2022, https://www.poudrepress.com/post/canvas-community-classic-poudre-high-school-football-team-shatters-the-competition. Accessed 1 December 2022.
Clapp, Jarin. “Poudre High School Assembly; A Chance at Normalcy, and a New Year.” Poudre Press, 20 September, https://www.poudrepress.com/post/poudre-high-school-assembly-a-chance-at-normalcy-and-a-new-year. Accessed 1 December 2022.
Orsuto, Arielle. “Poudre rocks Rocky Mountain in inaugural Canvas Community Classic.” 9News, 30 September 2022, https://www.9news.com/article/sports/high-school/hs-football/poudre-rocks-rocky-mountain-in-inaugural-canvas-community-classic/73-54c78a1f-3be1-46a0-a439-3ffcc4568005. Accessed 4 December 2022.
“Schedule - Poudre Impalas (Fort Collins, CO) Varsity Football 22-23.” MaxPreps, 4 November 2022, https://www.maxpreps.com/co/fort-collins/poudre-impalas/football/schedule/. Accessed 4 December 2022.
Elizabeth Bentley is a senior at Poudre High School, and this is her first year at the Poudre Press. She writes The Occhiolism Operation, a movie review blog that you can check out here!