On the half day before Thanksgiving, all classes could go to the gym during to watch the student vs. staff basketball game. From second period to seventh period, the stands were filled by students cheering on their classmates and teachers. Both teams displayed their skill in basketball, whether they were students on the boys varsity team or English teachers trying their best at the sport. After multiple subs switching players in and out of the game, the final score was 128-121, in favor of the staff.

Mr. Oakes, English teacher and girls basketball coach, participated in the game, and helped lead the staff team to victory, making passes to fellow teachers and shooting some of his own baskets. When asked about the advantages the staff held over the students, Oakes said, “the wisdom and the basketball expertise kind of prevailed.”

This year’s student-staff game was unique in that it was during the school day, where it was easier for students and teachers to show up to the game and give their support. Student-staff basketball games in the past have always been in the evening, where it is harder for students to see. On the day before Thanksgiving, multiple teachers decided to give their class a free period and allow the students to watch the game inside the gym.

Both students and staff acknowledge the benefits from being able to spectate and participate in the game. Senior Brennan Rose, who was able to watch the game during one class, said, “I think it was honestly a good idea. Nothing really happens on half days anyways, and this allowed something for students and teachers to do and get hyped about.”

English resource teacher Ms. Leah Michaels, who played in the game, affirmed she would definitely play in the game in the future.  “I love to run around and play with the students, and it’s really fun too, just to see the kids in a different context, because a lot of the kids that I saw, I’ve seen in the hall, and it’s just a whole different way of seeing them when they’re on the basketball court and they’re all smiles and they’re having a great time,” Michaels said.

Some want the game to be an annual tradition, pointing not only to the benefits it gives to the specific students/teachers participating, but also the school in general. “I think just doing this on the day before Thanksgiving, on the half day was just really nice timing and I think kind of good overall for the school,” Oakes said, “Good for the kids to see their teachers out there, diving on the floor for loose balls and doing something competitive, and also good for the teachers to be able to, you know, see their students in a different context rather than just in the classroom.”