It was a sporting night at Hewlett High

Hewlett High School students and faculty gathered in the gymnasium for Hewlett’s annual Sports Night on March 4. The event, organized by the Student Council, is held in memory of Adam Barsel, a Hewlett High sophomore who died in a 2000 car accident. His mother, Rhonda Barsel, is a former physical education teacher at Hewlett and a current substitute teacher at Hewlett.

Music genres were this year’s theme: the seniors were rock-and-roll, the juniors were rap, the sophomores were country and the freshmen were pop. Standing with tradition, the week before Sports Night was Spirit Week. Each grade decorated a different hallway to correspond with its theme.

On Monday, students and faculty wore pajamas to school. On Tuesday, the halls were filled with sets of “twins” wearing matching clothing. Wednesday’s theme was “Wacky Wednesday” for the seniors and blackout day for the rest of the student body. On Thursday, students and teachers could be found adorning Hewlett spirit wear. Friday’s attire had each grade dressing for their respective music genres.

At 4 p.m. on that Friday, students returned after a full day of school to begin the afternoon events. Each student purchased the T-shirt designed by a representative in their grade which encompassed the themes; freshmen wore blue, sophomores wore purple, juniors wore red, and seniors wore black. Each grade gathered and cheered together before entering the gymnasium.

The first event of the night was the captain’s relay. Two captains from each grade, one boy and one girl, needed to complete a series of six events, including making two layups and completing a hopscotch sequence. The captain from each grade competed together, and their time is compared to those of the captains from the other grades. The next event was volleyball, followed by basketball, hockey, and the Swedish Relay (better known as the over-under relay). Each event, other than the Swedish Relay, is split into a boy and girl heat. There is also musical chairs for Student Council officers and an academic bowl. Each grade can have up to 10 students take part in the academic bowl.

Each grade also paints a banner and choreographs a dance to perform. The juniors won the dance competition, which is considered one of the main events. The seniors, however, won the overall Sports Night competition.

Sports Night was a great success, and students are already looking forward to Sports Night next year!