Seymour High School Pep Club promotes school spirit
February 2, 2022
By Zach Spicer | The Tribune [email protected]
Tim Perry thought it was time for a revival of the Seymour High School Pep Club.
Early in the 2014-15 school year, one of the journal entries in his class was to have students share one thing they would change about the school if they could. Katy Nolting and Macey Warren both wrote about school spirit.
“I filed that away in my brain and thought, ‘I need to start working on this,’” Perry said.
The next summer, he talked to Principal Greg Prange about being involved with the Booster Club when he was a teacher at Brownstown Central High School. That’s when Prange pulled an SHS yearbook off of the shelf from his days in school and showed him pictures of the Pep Club.
It has carried on since then, except for taking a hiatus in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This school year, around 140 students are in the club. There’s no cost to participate, and students can join at any time.
The club organized two pep sessions in the first semester, and the first one of the second semester was Friday morning during student resource time in the Earl D. Prout Auditorium.
“Just the connectivity, making sure as a young person in this building that you’re more connected to high school,” Perry said of the purpose of the club. “‘I am so proud that I am a Seymour High School student,’ that’s what I want them to think and feel. It makes me feel great to know that at least this many students are connected and they are enjoying their life at Seymour High School.”
During each pep session, students involved in sports and other school activities are recognized.
On Friday, Marching Owls percussionists performed in the lobby as students filed into the auditorium. One at a time, Perry invited members of the swimming and diving, girls basketball and wrestling teams onto the stage to share results of recent games or meets and information on upcoming events.
Then the cast and crew of Owl Theatre’s production of Pandemonium came onstage to talk about the upcoming show, followed by the archery team talking about hosting a state qualifier, cheerleaders leading students in the school song and the boys basketball team encouraging people to attend that night’s Hoosier Hills Conference game against Floyd Central.
Perry then closed the pep session by firing up the students with various chants and recognizing students with birthdays.
The Pep Club has two members from each grade level serve as leaders. This school year, it’s Zac DuBois and Kaitlyn Proctor for seniors, Charlie Longmeier and Lilly Hartley for juniors, Drew Handloser and Anna Marks for sophomores and Xavier DuBois and Alana Jacobi for freshmen.
This is Proctor’s fourth and final year in the club.
“I am a cheerleader, and I really care about the school spirit that this school has, and although the past years it hasn’t been great, I think that this year because we’ve gotten so many people to be a part of this group, it has just grown tremendously,” she said.
She’s in charge of the club’s Instagram page, where she shares information about sporting events, including themes for games, and other school activities.
“The followers have grown so much on there, so that shows that the school cares,” Proctor said. “Even people that aren’t in Pep Club are following it so they know the themes.”
DuBois said this is his first year in the club.
“I know that the past couple years, the student section has been lacking a little bit. It just needed a little revival, and I wanted to help spring us back into that revival of being Seymour High School,” he said.
“I am a huge (Green Bay) Packers fan, and I know that they are such a huge fan base, and that’s what I want it to be here, as well,” he said. “Senior year has gone by really fast, and I want to help push that out and make everyone enjoy their high school years because it really does go by quickly.”
Seeing students show up at pep sessions, games, musicals and other events makes Proctor and DuBois happy.
“It has been amazing, and it makes me truly happy as a cheerleader to see the student section growing so much and people participating in the themes and actually cheering with us,” Proctor said.
Even though both seniors will be graduating, they hope current and future students keep the Pep Club going.
“If you’re going to Seymour High School, then everyone is going to push that you are an Owl, and it’s just fun being a part of it. It’s really involved, and I think it helps prepare kids in the future for leadership roles, and it just helps them dip their toes in what it’s like being involved in bigger organizations,” DuBois said.
“Not only is it fun and cool to be able to participate, but it’s entertaining to watch everybody come up and do their thing,” Proctor said.
