Hunterdon Central has a student body of almost 4,000 kids. This means hundreds of events, clubs, sports, and passions are cultivated on campus. Keeping all of these programs afloat requires something from all students and faculty: spirit.
“Having people at our games helps the players. We feed off the energy and support,” said Nick Augusta, a senior baseball player.
Some sports attract a large number of spectators, while others are lacking. Augusta believes part of this is due to the location of certain playing fields. Football, for example, is played at the stadium, which offers bleacher seating for all spectators. Baseball, on the other hand, is played on the grass fields that are behind the stadium and does not offer anywhere near the same capacity of seating. He thinks that making changes to the seating options would help increase the amount of support. Hockey, baseball, and softball are all sports he feels are missing out on student support because of their seating options.
However, Augusta said that more people will show up for big games. He recalled two big games where he felt the support from spectators significantly impacted the energy of the game: County Championships in the 2023 season and Sectional Championships in the 2022 season.
Athletes are supported here at Central, but what about school spirit as a whole? Do we support all students in the same way? With so many events, getting to all of them can be challenging, but we can show school spirit in other ways.
“Central’s school spirit has improved,” said Scott Saks, Spanish teacher. “It’s getting back to where it once was.”
Saks is Central’s class advisor and world language teacher, constantly immersed in student life. He strives to spark unity and get to know students beyond their work in the classroom. He thinks that putting students in a more casual, fun environment can be fun for faculty as they can form more personal relationships with students.
When asked how students have become more involved, Saks felt Principal Edward Brandt was a driving force behind unifying students. Brandt has implemented different competitions at school, such as “Guess that Song” and putting chocolate chip cookies at stake to encourage students to get to class on time.
A recent competition that has influenced the support at events is the Student Superfan Contest, also created by Brandt. This contest encourages students to attend as many HC events as possible- the one who attends the most gets a prize. These friendly competitions are small steps in creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere at Hunterdon Central.
Indubitably, part of Central’s spirit is lacking due to COVID-19 and the lost years of tradition. From 2020-2021, spectators were limited at sporting events, and most other events were online only. This made engagement with the school community difficult.
So, how can we continue to cultivate spirit?
Augusta believes we need to encourage students to watch all levels of sports, not just varsity. He thinks that upper-level students should try to inform students about all the games and competitions, regardless of the level. Social media should be used to invite students to all events, as this is the most efficient way to communicate.
Saks accredited part of the lack of engagement at times to the district’s size. Spanning from Whitehouse Station to Delaware Township to Flemington to East Amwell, some students may have close to a 25-minute drive to school. Plus, kids who have to take the bus and do not have a parent who can pick them up have difficulty staying after school. Even though there is a late bus, this is not always feasible for everyone.
Central has done an excellent job of bringing the community together, especially after years of isolation. Now, we need to take advantage of opportunities to support one another to increase engagement, unite students, and spread school spirit.
