South Windsor High School Cheerleaders have been busy this fall, and it all started well before the season even officially began. Cheerleaders from across the country gathered at South Windsor High School on Aug. 18 for a two-day cheer camp. Running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day with few breaks, the camp focused on leadership, the role of cheerleaders as school role models, and team bonding.
“Cheer camp this season has definitely benefited the team in the best way possible. We have such a big team this year, and luckily for us we were able to start the year off early in the summer and get to bond with the incoming freshman! Though we’re still so early in the year, we’ve progressed so fast, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings us!” senior captain Mia Chreiha explained.
The captains this year are seniors Tatiana Walton, Mia Chreiha and junior Emma Boldi.
“This season started really strong for all the new girls and shows how SW can take things to a new level with new girls,” senior captain Tatiana Walton said.
In addition to their summer camp, the cheerleading team has been very busy with other events, both on and off the field. They have partnered with the Pep Band, adding a new element to football games. By collaborating with the Pep Band, the cheerleaders have created a new chant and dance called the ‘band chant’.
“The dance is super fun and something different that we have never done before,” sophomore Makennah Winter said.
Junior Nafissa Ly commented on these exciting changes for the team.
“Right now we are doing a lot with the Pep Band. We have a big team. This is one of the most diverse teams we have had in South Windsor history. We did a lot with fundraisers over the summer. We are going to have new uniforms. You are going to see a new version of cheerleading,” Ly said.
Additionally, every fall, the SWHS cheerleaders partner up with Flower Power Farm to create a mum sale that cheerleading families, football fans and teachers are always excited and look forward to.
The cheerleaders reach out to the community through a form that can help see how many mums they will need to make this fundraiser possible. This fundraiser is a fun and simple way to help raise money to donate to other schools and local nursing homes.
Cheerleaders, parent volunteers, and teachers, such as Mrs. Dahms-Lodge, helped give out the mums during the South Windsor versus Windsor football game on Saturday, October 6th.
“This is a great fundraiser because a lot of people like to decorate for fall so this allows people to support our cheer program and also get fall decorations. We have people donate to our schools and some nursing homes. I also like it because we do pickup at the school on game days, so an added bonus is people get to come watch the cheerleaders and football team. It brings the community members to the school on game days and hopefully gets more people into the stands at our games,” Cheerleading Head Coach Jessica Slater said.
The cheerleaders were able to sell 290 mums for the sale this year, raising over $1,200. Nineteen mums were purchased for donation to our community, and they were distributed to nursing homes and the police station in town.
Another highlight for the squad was the annual “Bobcat for a Day” event. Starting as early as 8am on game day, the SWHS cheerleaders and the Panthers from 1st -6th grade partner together for a day that is basically a cheer clinic. Throughout the day, the cheerleaders teach the Panthers some of South Windsor’s cheers, dances, and jumps and then they get to perform these at the Bobcats’ football game.
“The SWHS cheerleaders love being able to work with the Panthers and show these future Bobcats how much fun it is to be a SWHS cheerleader,” SWHS cheerleader Madi Wayner said. “The main reason we do ‘Bobcat for a Day’ is to show our future Bobcats how fun it is to be a Bobcat and inspire them.”
“’Bobcat for a Day’ is one of my favorite events of the fall season. I love to have the little Panthers come up and cheer with us. Creating a bond with them is always so fun, and we all hope that they will want to be a SWHS cheerleader one day,” junior captain Emma Boldi told The Prowl.
