That's the Spirit celebrated by Hillside students

They are fans of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.

And one is happy and one is disappointed.

And they were also baseball fans and loyal followers of the New York Yankees, counting the days when Spring Training opens in a few weeks. 

A loyalist of the Boston Celtics was also in attendance, and he was filled with trivia knowledge about his favorite team.

These professional sport teams and many other squads were proudly worn by the students of the Hillside Intermediate School on “Spirit Day,” which was held on Friday, January 27.

During the recess period, the school’s 6th Grade students wore the garb of their favorite teams while they played basketball among the many activities during a day that was brisk –and not too cold–and sunny on the court, playground and field  behind Hillside.

The  Hillside Student Council’s “Spirit Day” is one of five that is participated by the students during the school year, according to the Hillside Student Government Council Advisors, Jen Heinbach and Lauren Schrenk.

“This Spirit Day was for our students to wear jerseys and clothing of their favorite teams,” said Ms. Heinbach, who is a 5th Grade English Language Arts Teacher 

Other “Spirit Days” included Pajama Day and Zoom Meeting Day.

Both Ms. Heinbach and Ms. Schrenk, who is a Grade 5 Special Education teacher, both agreed that the “kids really look forward to this day and say it is a great day.”

So what did these avid fans have to say about their teams?

“I like the Bengals. I really like Joe Burrow,” said Joshua Lourenco about the quarterback who is emerging as one of the best in the NFL. 

But Joshua’s anticipation of watching Burrow in the Super Bowl on February 12 was denied when the Kansas City Chiefs trimmed the Bengals, 23-20, in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 29.

His classmate, Mila Daniels, however, does have a team to root for in the Super Bowl. Her  Philadelphia Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl. The Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-7, in the NFC title game on that same Sunday, January 29
 

“ I like them a lot” she proclaimed while she wore her Eagles sweatshirt. 

She did not please any of her classmates who are New York Giants fans .

“We beat the Giants again,” she said about the Eagles knocking out the Giants in the NFC Divisional playoffs , 38-7, on January 21. 

To her pleasure, the Eagles beat the Giants three times this season.

Another 6th Grader, Anna Vallario, was thrilled that the New York Yankees did sign Aaron Judge to a contract this winter after he won the American League MVP award by hitting a record 62 home runs.

She wore his New York away uniform top with Judge’s name and number 99 on the back.

“I am a big Aaron Judge fan,” she said. “I can’t wait for baseball to start.”

Keshav Chary is a 6th Grader who is well-schooled on his favorite basketball team—the Boston Celtics.

He wore a Celtics and explained why.

“I really like them because of Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett and Jason Tatum,” he explained.

And Keshav revealed a fact about Tatum, who is currently one of the finest NBA players today.

“He is the only Celtic to ever average over 30 points a game. Not even Larry Bird did that,” Keshav reported about Tatum’s feat that such Basketball Hall of Famers such as Bird and Garnett never accomplished in Boston. Tatum is averaging 31 points this season.

‘I was not happy that the Celtics lost to the Knicks (the night before on January 26). But they will start winning again.”

That’s the spirit.

 

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