The boys and girls in the Wise Owl Nation at 186th Street School cheered for academics and fitness with members from the UCLA and USC football teams Friday, Jan. 31. This marked the 10th anniversary of Super Bowl School Spirit Day.
The boys and girls in the Wise Owl Nation at 186th Street School cheered for academics and fitness with members from the UCLA and USC football teams Friday, Jan. 31. This marked the 10th anniversary of Super Bowl School Spirit Day.
Students, parents, staff, and teachers wore their favorite jerseys in the spirit of celebrating literacy and fitness for life. Ric Coy, UCLA associate director of Academics and Student Services, and Linda Lassiter, UCLA academic counselor, brought five Division I student-athletes to interact with the elementary children, and Matt Ackels, USC director of Community Outreach brought seven Trojans to join in the fun.
Joseph Martinez, district director from LAUSD board member Richard Vladovic's Office spent the afternoon with our champions.
The day began with the Bruins and Trojans meeting each other and taking a group picture to establish unity for the day in the name of education. It was a love fest of Bruins meeting Trojans in the name of citizenship, scholarship, and sportsmanship.
Then the athletes visited various classrooms to surprise the children with their presence and size. The students’ eyes lit up with excitement and sounds of joy echoed throughout the rooms as the student-athletes greeted each child with an encouraging high five. The Bruins even played a game of Simon Says with a group of energetic first graders.
At the close of the school day, the Bruins and Trojans made a receiving line in front of the school buses to give high fives and take pictures with students who could not stay for the afterschool festivities.
Then everyone went to the playground for the academic huddle. The little Owls welcomed their guests with the school cheer, the school song, the school champions’ code, the school creed, the six pillars of character, and their peace chant. The student-athletes joined in the Peace First Cheer with their claps and rhythmic steps from side to side.
Next, Coy saluted the students and staff members as one of the best elementary schools in the nation. He addressed the children and told them that none of the student athletes would be standing before them if they had not done their work in the classroom.
Then each player introduced themselves and shared their position, their year in school, the high school they attended, and their academic major. After the introductions, Matt Ackels shared the “4 Quarters” of a SCORE Initiative,which is USC Athletics’ major outreach endeavor: Physical Health, Academic Discipline, Teamwork, and Community Responsibility. SCORE stands for Serving Community Through Outreach Recreation and Education.
He had student athletes from both universities define each one. It was awesome. Then all of the players formed an academic huddle, and Anthony Neyer, a redshirt junior quarterback from USC, called the academic play encouraging the students to strive for excellence, respect their teachers, do their homework, and work hard to achieve their goals and dreams.
He led the players with “Excellence on three…1, 2, 3… Excellence,” and the players formed another receiving line for all of the children in attendance to go down the line and receive a high five for excellence.
At the end of the line, the teachers and afterschool staff passed out activity cards for the children to get a free book, participate in the fun-filled activities (hula hoops, football toss, 50-yard dash, football trivia, etc.), and of course, to get autographs.
The college advisors brought posters to share with all of the children. It was really comical to see the little children asking the Bruins to sign the Trojan posters and the Trojans to sign the Bruin posters.
The children had no clue of the cross-town rivalry. They knew they wanted the autographs and it did not matter who signed what poster. It was really special. The athletes were some of the nicest young people we have had come to our school. They made our children feel so special and it appeared the athletes felt special too.
Students from Loyola Marymount University and Gardena High School assisted in running the special activities. Many children left with autographs on their shirts and arms, and every child in attendance received a free book to increase their pleasure reading materials at home and two beautiful posters.
At the close of the event, we knew the day was successful in letting the students know the importance of celebrating academics. The day was another great day in the lives of the children in the Wise Owl Nation. The Wise Owls will treasure the memory of the day the Bruins and Trojans, who are cross- town rivals, laid down their rivalry and became one voice in cheering for academics and fitness.
Yes, academic, fitness, and a spirit of service are what make a champion roar.
