Robinson students gathered in the gym this Friday, Sept. 23 to finish the school week strong with a pep rally in preparation for the 2022 homecoming dance at Zoo Tampa.

To start out, the Spirit Boys gave everyone a warm welcome with their performance with the Robinson cheerleaders following. Even though there were a few changes in the plan, along with some technical difficulties for the cheerleaders, they both pulled it off in the end.

“Our original plan was something entirely different. We wanted to do a stunt with a basket and do something with the lights for effects, but admin didn’t approve the idea,” Spirit Boy Jake Abell (’24) said. “I think despite everything that went wrong, we got out there and did a great job.”

The pep rally also consisted of many games, one of them being the “wheelbarrow relay.” Students from each grade level were paired up into three pairs and had to race across the gym floor as human wheelbarrows. The two were then forced to spin ten times and run back to the other side in order for the other pairs to go. With many falls and slips, the seniors ended up finishing first, the sophomores next, the juniors right after and the freshmen last.

A performance from the Kultural Dance Club followed the relay. 14 of their members, dressed in all black, danced to the beat of SOLO By Jennie Kim. Additional artistic performances were seen from The Robinson Starlets and Band who were applauded enthusiastically by the crowd.

Not to mention, the Homecoming inner court was also introduced during the Pep Rally. As IB Psychology teacher Donald Pippin introduced them, these royalties made their entrances in pairs. Each pair did a little dance as well, showing off their excitement to the crowd.

“I was super nervous leading up to the announcement and going out there. You could ask anyone that was sitting next to me how many times I said I was going to barf,” Homecoming Princess Tammy Jerson (’24) said.

Because of the time crunch, a few games were shortened such as: the Homecoming fashion show, human hula hoop and TikTok dance battle. Senior Isreal Eldridge-Mindieta (’23) and Junior Tammy Jerson (’24) went head to head against each other as the two show off their best moves. Eldridge-Mindieta ended up winning the competition, as he wowed the crowd with his head handstand.

At last, the pep rally finished off with the traditional class chant. Despite the underclassmen being the majority of the crowd, they were eliminated first. The seniors ended up winning the chant, going home remembering the final moments of their last homecoming pep rally.

While Robinson students had a blast at their second pep rally of the year, The Student Government Association (SGA) is always looking for ways to improve.

“I definitely think the pep rally could’ve been better, but I’m ready to improve things for the next one,” Senior Class President Sara Gainer (’23) said.