Ask any student their favorite part of the school year and the overwhelming answer will be spirit week. Spirit week gives students a break from the everyday routine and allows them to embrace their fun-loving, silly, excitable selves for eight days. Between buyouts, dress-up days, after school and evening events, and different breakfasts and lunches, there really is something for every student (and parent!) to enjoy! It's not just about making school fun and spirited–we are also making an impact in our community.

This year, we are proud to support Make-A-Wish as our spirit week recipient. The goal this year is to raise $130,000, which will grant seventeen wishes in Greenville County. This is a huge goal but with the energy, enthusiasm, and difference-making hearts of our school and community, we can reach it! No matter what you use–dandelions, ruby red slippers, 11:11 on the clock, or a Fairy Godmother–get your wishes ready, Warriors! Let’s make some dreams come true!

Jason Zhang

Student Body President

Welcome to RHS Spirit Week 101! If you have never experienced Spirit Week, I would love to give you a quick overview of what to expect from September 29-October 6!!

It is an action-packed week as our kids adopt a charity and do all they can to raise money for that group. This year, they selected Make-A-Wish South Carolina, specifically supporting children right here in Greenville County. Did you know there are around 50 children in Greenville County right now that are waiting for their wish to come true!? Our kids are excited to see how many wishes they can grant!

A few things to help you navigate the week (so grateful to all of the moms that came before me and gave me this advice):

1. Set a budget! If you are going to help fund the activities for the week, then give your kids a set amount. That way they can decide what they want to participate in and budget for it and you won’t be handing out cash all week long!
2. Remember that not all activities cost money. We have pep rallies and dress up days (your closet and Goodwill are your best friends for this… it is nothing to spend money on). These are fun activities that don’t cost anything.
3. Try to have your student get ahead on any studying before this week. There is so much going on that they will want to participate in and they don’t want to be stressed about schoolwork.
4. Read the emails and print out the calendar. There are multiple activities each day and a fun activity each night.
5. The whole family can participate… remember what I said above about this being a community effort.
6. Speaking of community effort… if you or your company are interested in granting a wish or a part of a wish, please reach out and let us know! We are happy to get you any information you may need.

If this is your first Spirit Week, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The Student Council events are all approved by faculty and staff and are chaperoned. Come see for yourself and help chaperone if you can. It is always so much fun. Last year, we did our first ever school bonfire, and I chaperoned the event. I walked away from that night so proud of how awesome our kids are… they were so well-behaved, and they had a blast!

There will be multiple SignUpGenius for donations, set ups for different events and more. Thanks in advance for your support of time, talents, and money. There is nothing like seeing our kids and the whole RHS community come together to promote our charity. It is life changing not only for the kids that will receive their wishes but for our RHS students that work to make those dreams come true.

Go Warriors!

Cara Cornelius

Please note not all events are open to the public. Sadie's, Midnight Madness, and the bonfire are RHS student only events. Sadie's and Midnight Madness are both presale only events. Events occurring during school hours are not open to the public.

Joining is simple! Text @rhs23sw to 81010. You'll get a confirmation you've joined and we'll send updates leading up to and during spirit week.

If you'd like to avoid the "I need money for breakfast and lunch!" daily conversations, we are offering prepaid breakfast, lunch or combo options. See the graphic below for more details. Pay on MySchoolBucks. After purchasing a wristband, you will complete a Google form collecting your student's lunch shift and choices on days that have multiple options. Students with wristbands will pick their meals up from a separate line and will be checked off a master list when picked up. Wristband sales end Friday, September 22.

You may also preorder a spirit week shirt! The design is below and costs $15. The shirt is a navy. There will be a very limited number of shirts available for purchase in person. Pay for shirts on MySchoolBucks. Shirt presales end Friday, September 15.

Don't forget to say you're with Riverside!