Monday, Aug. 23, 2010

Rally showcases pride in Pacheco

Students, faculty and parents get revved up for opening of campus

Staff and students gathered a day early to drum up school spirit for the first new high school to open in Los Banos in more than 40 years.

Sunday evening, Pacheco High School held a night rally that nearly 100 people attended to celebrate the campus. The high school officially opened to students Monday, a day new Principal Brett Lee made sure everyone knew was going to be historic.

"Tomorrow when you walk on this campus, you will be making history," Lee said to students, "something that hasn't been done for the last 44 years in this city."

Lee said he has been working hard for 18 months to make the school a reality by making sure staff was in place to make Pacheco high the best place it can be for the students.

Lee then spoke directly to parents and students.

"I believe in your child. I believe in what they can do. You will become, students of Pacheco High School. What you believe, you can become. I believe you will be amazing," he said.

Jacquie Freitas of the school's English department organized the rally. The event included games, performances by the school's cheerleaders, an introduction of school staff and free T-shirts for students who showed the most school spirit at the event.

Freitas and faculty members participated in a trivial pursuit game, during which students and teachers formed teams and were asked questions in six categories. Wrong answers resulted in the teacher of the team having a water balloon broken over his or her head.

A second game split up several people into two teams and asked them to spell the school's mascot, the Pacheco Panther, by picking up taped paper letters with their elbows and placing them on a banner. The game was made more difficult by a light wind that turned over some of the letters before they could be picked up.

The cheerleading squad performed twice, each time the musical accompaniment included a "Welcome to the Jungle" intro recorded by the '80s band Guns N' Roses.

As the 45-minute rally closed, Lee thanked everyone for coming and yelled his mantra for the evening:

"Tomorrow we make history."