Each year a tradition of dear old Upper St. Clair High School is that on the last day before the long-awaited winter break begins, students have the opportunity to sign up and play in the Holiday Hoops basketball tournament. Throughout the stretch between Thanksgiving break and winter break, it is a teaching period of rigorous courses and loads of work and tests. To top off the start of a fun and relaxing break, the student council gathers together to organize the annual basketball tournament. Following this, the collected fees to participate in the tournament are donated to the Make-A-Wish Charity Program upon collection, again organized by Mrs. Tarcson and our hardworking student council representatives.
To participate in the tournament groups of up to 6 students or staff form a team and donate money to contribute. Getting together with your teammates and friends is often a hit. Team themes and names coordinated with outfits and lots of festive cheer are incorporated. Friday was a short day and many classes brought their students down to watch the event and cheer on their peers.
If you are not interested in the Holiday Hoops tournament, the options are endless! Throughout the day, students are permitted to check in with their teachers to appropriately attain their attendance, but if they are not signed up for the tournament, Holiday Hoops, they have many options to choose from. Some students may choose to stay in their respective classrooms and chill out before the break, possibly cramming some last-minute assignments. Others may choose to check in with their teachers and watch the ESports video game tournament. The library is open all day to those who want a quiet place to hang out and study as well.
Along with the hosted tournament, Holiday Hoops, the members of multiple clubs came together to organize a talent show that initially had sign-ups but later in the day took walk-on members as well! We see a variety of talent each passing year from singing, dancing, magic performances, and sports demonstrations. As stated, the options are endless!
Hearing from some of the students, Griffin Tomshick, a senior this year at Upper St. Clair High School says, “I think it is pretty entertaining to watch but I don’t play basketball so I don’t feel comfortable participating”, further reassuring that he hung out with his friends in the library and watched the tournament to relax this half day!
Following, another student Lauren Mittleider mentions, “I feel like holiday hoops are a good thing to have on the last day before break because it allows students to have fun during break and allows them to not think about school for a little bit but have fun,” stating that the half-day fun day gives her a break from thinking about school to get in gear for the holidays and spend time to wind down with her friends.
Lastly, Geneva says, “I hate basketball but it is a good cause for a good place”. We can see that Geneva has some strong feelings towards basketball but mentions the good cause behind it so participates and observes anyway. We hope that students have a wonderful time on these fun days!