It’s been two long years since an in-person pep assembly has been held. This year, Student Council is bringing it back for the first time since COVID-19 hit. 

Student Council has been hard at work planning it since winter break. The assembly is set to take place on Feb. 11 in FHN’s large gym. Many behind-the-scenes factors go into this popular event, and most of FHN’s student body doesn’t realize this. StuCo has to consider COVID-19 as the threat it is, the number of students in the gym at one time, additional options for students who might be uncomfortable in that large group and the activities to get everyone hype. 

“There will be about 1700 students, but we’re working on something where students who don’t feel comfortable in that crowd can go to the auditorium or something and see it live streamed, so it’ll be a little less than 1700,” FHN senior and StuCo Vice President Bree Ammons said.

With the large number of students, the bleachers in the gym will be packed to the fullest. While this may be daunting, activities director Mike Janes has been working with the school and watching the COVID-19 numbers to ensure that it will have the least effect possible. Students will have the option to not attend in the gymnasium and to gather in a determined area. 

“I think you’re gonna have some students that don’t want to participate,” Janes said. “We’ll have to find an alternative activity or alternative place for those students with supervision. My thinking for the most part, I’m gonna guess that 90 something percent of our kids are going to want to come down to it. They’ve never been the one they want to see what they’re like.” 

While upperclassmen have attended pep assemblies in the past, sophomores and freshmen have yet to experience one. Last year, pep assemblies were all digital, streamed throughout the school live during homeroom to students and teachers or sent out as pre-recorded video. 

“Yeah, I’m excited for them to see it. I’m really looking forward to their reactions, since the sophomores are in the same boat as the freshmen for the first time, and seeing how the freshmen react to the booing,” Ammons said.

Since this is one of the first large group things that our school has been able to hold in a few years, Janes worries about the students behavior. He hopes that all of the students will act appropriately and show respect for the pep assembly, especially since StuCo worked so hard to bring this back for the students. 

“I have confidence that our students will perform well at it,” Janes said. “I think it’s something that we haven’t had, but I think it’s something that our students will do. I mean, they’re meant to be fun. We want our kids to be involved, we want the spectator part of it to be involved, we really want to show respect for our teams as they come out in the parade. We want those types of support.”

The diligent planning of Student Council and Janes is expected to pay off when the pep assembly takes place. They know that the anticipation for this exciting event is only rising as it gets closer and closer to the special day.

“I have high hopes for this assembly and Snowcoming overall. I’m really excited to see how it all turns out, and I think everyone’s gonna be excited to see it all come back,” Ammons said.