By: CeCe Duffy

“It makes me excited for game days, and I look forward to planning my outfits for the games,” states Sammy Cowdin, a senior at Grandville High School about the spirit board. Many students in high school go to the spirit board for reference for football game themes or to see their picture up on the wall because they are fans of the game. There are many people involved in starting and creating the spirit board every year but, mainly the cheerleaders and their head coach Julie Smith- Boyd. 

What is the spirit board? The spirit board is a big bulletin board in the highschool that has posters of each football game theme, pictures of fans of the game and our amazing student section! The main point of the board is to help students get connected at football games and get excited to be united as a school and cheer on the football team together. Jodi O’dell claims, a sophomore at the school is a 2nd year varsity cheerleader on the spirit committee “I created the pink out poster.” She adds, “I picked this poster because I think it is one of the most fun themes to do and everyone loves it. It’s also a theme that everyone can enjoy and my favorite color is pink.” The cheerleaders, a part of the spirit committee each pick a poster to create that represents a football game theme. When the poster is done they hang them all up before the football season starts to help students be prepared for games. Their head coach, Julie Smith- Boyed was the woman that started the whole board. In the summer of 2011 the cheer team went to a camp in Kentucky and that is where she saw a spirit board for the first time. “It was by the athletic office,” She says. That is why it is placed downstairs right across the athletic office and by hallway 120-126. The spirit board was then put up at the end of the summer in 2011 before the football season and has since grown in creativity and spirit.  

The spirit board does impact people in the school because it joins all the students together at one place at one time and enjoy watching highschool football together. Sammy Cowdin comments on how the spirit board impacts her by saying, “It makes me look forward to football games more than if it wasn’t there” Not only does it make kids excited but, everyone finds it helpful, Sammy states. “I find it very helpful because during school I forget what the theme is. I can go look at the spirit board or I took a picture of it and now ik what the theme is every week.” This board makes an impact on people in the high school because it unites all students from all groups and encourages everyone to dress up and get spirited for the football game on Friday nights.

This board really helps students at GHS from all grades and all groups feel connected and included and most of all it is made to help students have fun during their four years of high school!