“E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!”
Almost 400 primary school students chanted together Friday, nearly shaking the room in a high-pitched, joyous and enthusiastic performance of the team's fight song, "Fly Eagles Fly."
The Ocean City Primary School hosted a pep rally in the multipurpose room to generate excitement as the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX this Sunday.
Pre-K through third-graders dressed in green Eagles gear lined the perimeter of the space for the 35-minute assembly, smiling ear to ear.
“It's all about coming together to just have fun and celebrate the Eagles,” Principal Cathy Smith said. “I think everyone had a great time — teachers, staff, students, police officers, the superintendent, everybody.”
In addition to Smith, the rally was led by health teacher Carrie Merritt and physical education teacher Daniel Calhoun, who is better known to students as “Coach”.
The group kicked off the event with a few rounds of "Fly Eagles Fly," then moved to an Eagles-themed trivia game, where students were given a chance to win pennant flags.
Four trivia questions were asked, and four students won flags.
Next up was a staff obstacle course competition, where two teams of randomly selected faculty went head-to-head in a race. Teachers navigated through three obstacles on the floor made of plastic cones and hula-hoops, before throwing a football back to the starting point, relaying to the next person in line. Students’ faces lit up in excitement as they erupted in laughter and cheered on their favorite teachers.
Smith said staff competitions during pep rallies are usually a hit with students and provide them a chance to see their teachers in a fun and unexpected light.
“The students usually only really see the staff standing in front of a classroom, teaching,” Smith said. “The staff competition had all of the kids smiling and laughing, having a great time.”
Merritt said she always enjoys participating in events like this and thinks they’re an important part in helping students want to learn.
“I'm a firm believer that education needs a fun component to help students become interested in the school process and want to be lifelong learners,” Merritt said. “If they can see a little bit of who we are, not just as teachers, but humans, I think that kind of builds deeper connections with our kids.”
The final activity in the pep rally was a group performance of "Blow the Whistle" by Too Short, a song made popular for celebrating the Eagles this season through a series of viral videos created by Philly rapper Gillie Da King.
A few faculty members danced on stage during the song, some even wearing eagle costumes and dog masks.
Smith said the school purchased 400 whistles for the rally and passed one to each student to participate in the song.
Smith and Merritt agreed this seemed to be the students’ favorite activity. The uproarious, piercing sound of almost 400 elementary school students blowing their whistles likely would have imploded any nearby decibel reader.
“It was definitely a sensory experience,” Merritt said, laughing. “I think it’ll help them remember this day and the great moment we’ve shared.”
The students were dismissed from school at the end of the assembly, jittering with excitement for the big game this Sunday.
“It's important for the whole school to come together so you get to see different kids of different ages, other teachers, and just have everybody together,” Smith said.
