Homecoming Pep Rally

 

If you are responsible for helping to organize the Homecoming pep rally, your challenge is to plan it so it is interesting and builds spirit, runs smoothly, and justifies the time spent out of class. Careful planning in the following areas can help avoid problem situations:

• Inattentive or restless audience. The best cure for this is careful planning of the rally, keeping in mind the audience’s interest and attention span in the proposed activities. Vary the pace of the rally, interspersing the less interesting or stimulating items with those that are more likely to rouse the interest of the crowd. Make use of modern audiovisual techniques and equipment to give your program an extra flare of energy. A varied pace, a shift of routine, and a change of characters will help keep your audience interested.

• People not prepared. Write a script for the assembly, setting down what each person will say and who is responsible for conducting various activities. Don’t rely on people remembering what to say—even the best student leader occasionally gets flustered in front of a microphone. Be sure to rehearse the program. Rehearsal is a good time to ensure that planned activities will really work as you envision them.

• Sight lines and sound levels. Be sure that all members of the audience will be able to see and hear what is occurring; it’s hard to be attentive when you can’t see or hear. Work with the drama or music teacher to check that the sound system projects adequately and consider supplemental speakers to improve the quality of the sound.

• Equipment malfunctions. Check all equipment the day of the assembly to be sure it works properly and make sure all props and equipment needed for skits or other activities are on hand.

• Crowd control. Review behavior expectations with students before the assembly. Develop a plan with the administration for handling disruptive students. Teachers should sit in the crowd with students and demonstrate the behavior they want students to exhibit.

• Program is either too long or too short. During rehearsal make sure that the planned program fits into the scheduled time. Every minute should count, and all participants should clearly understand their time limits and the importance of adhering to the allotted time. Don’t forget to leave time in your schedule for the audience to get in and out of the auditorium.

• Entry and exit of students. This can be carried out in a variety of ways and will vary depending on the facility in which the rally is held. Some schools seat students by grade level, others have academic classes sit together with their teachers, while still others have open seating. Develop a seating plan ahead of time and distribute it to faculty members. If classes are sitting together by grade level, make signs to designate which section of the gym is assigned to each class. Be sure to mark off or reserve seating for guests or key participants. At the close of the assembly, dismissing students by section or designating doors for certain sections to use while exiting helps to eliminate traffic jams.