UPDATE: 

All Winter Carnival events after this Thursday will be in person based on changed Covid-19 guidelines. You will be able to attend events instead of watching events online.

What are the current standings for Winter carnival? 

Winter Carnival events started back in October with the Halloween dress-up day and there have been many more events since then. The standings today, March ?? are:

1st – Juniors 390 points

2nd – Seniors 370

3rd – Freshmen 250

4th – Sophomores 170

How is this year different from a normal year? 

Only the class of 2022 has been able to participate in a normal Winter Carnival during their high school careers, and even this year it is not totally back to normal. Some of the big events we get to do this year, even with social distancing rules, are Wildcat Idol, which we will be viewing virtually in our classes; Air Band, where each class will be pulled into the auditorium to watch their own class perform live, then recorded performances of the other three classes; Scavenger Hunt; and Tug of War. 

According to Student Council co-adviser, Ellyn Whitten-Smith, normally, Winter Carnival is the week after winter break and is three days in a row. You would sign up for events and participate in them at the time they are happening. If you didn’t have an event to be in you could go around and watch whatever event you want. Because of social distancing requirements, we don’t get to do that this year. When you participate in an event, you will attend it as usual. But if you don’t have any events to do, then the class period you are in at that time of day will choose what event to watch remotely via Google Meets at that time. So you will only be able to watch one event that your class agrees on because it is virtual, not in person. Although it is more fun to be there in person, doing it virtually allows us to be able to do it at all. We will also not be doing it three days in a row as usual, and we are spreading them out so that we will be able to do events outside when it’s warmer.

How does my class win Winter Carnival? 

There is a strategy to a Winter Carnival that anyone new to this event may not know. Or even if you have done it, you may not have figured out the strategies.

Probably the biggest key to winning is filling out all the spots for events. If you don’t have anyone participating in an event then you will get no points towards your overall score. If you do have people participating that aren’t good at the event or that don’t know how to do it at all you can come in fourth and get points for participation.  Not participating will earn you zero points.

One event that does require a little bit more strategizing than others is the scavenger hunt. First of all how it works is there will be a list that has random items that students in our school may have but no one knows what this list is ahead of time. Since this is an event where all people participate in when an item is called on the loudspeaker if you have it you run to your classes designated judge that will give you points for if anyone has the item. The way to get the most points is to bring as much random stuff you can fit in a backpack or purse so that you have a greater chance of having items on the list. Some years the items were detention slips or even Snapple bottle caps. The items on the list are not going to be something you can’t fit in your backpack or it will be something you wear. So maybe plan to wear some more eccentric clothing and shoes that day. 

Overall, the goal of winter carnival is to just have fun. Even though it is pretty awesome to have bragging rights over the other grades, don’t worry too much about winning and more about the memorable experiences you get to have with your class. 

“It’s a nice experience for you kids to work together as a class,” said Whitten-Smith. “Whether success means winning or working together.”