Celebrating school pride

Mike Sciacca

It wasn’t the hot, desert plains of Africa -- far from it.

The crisp, clear air of an ocean breeze wafted through campus on a

beautiful sunny day in Huntington Beach where the student body of Spring

View Middle School staged its own rendition of the TV reality show,

“Survivor.”

In reality, the premise of “Survivor” served as the theme for the

school’s PRIDE festival, an outdoor classroom event that also drew school

administrators and parents.

PRIDE, which stands for Perseverance, Responsibility, Integrity,

Determination and Excellence, is an event held for students in grades six

through eight. Although it is the second of its kind this school year, it

was the first time that sixth-grade students were able to participate.

The festival is a celebration featuring speeches, song, dance and

skits. There is also the awarding of the “spirit stick” to the “tribe”

that generated the most school spirit at the event. It honors students

who maintain a grade-point average between 2.0 and 4.0.

“The neat thing about this is that we get to recognize students who

maintain 2.0 GPAs and above, who have no Ds or Fs, or unsatisfactory

marks on their report cards,” Spring View Principal Cameron Malotte said.

With the students sprawled out on the front lawn of the school the

associated student body president, Jason Barlow, introduced some of the

tribes and their chants.

“I think that the students enjoy this day,” Barlow said. “It’s fun,

it’s a time to get outdoors and a chance for us to cheer on our

classmates.”

Malotte echoed Barlow’s sentiments in an opening speech in which he

addressed the student body.

“This day is to recognize you, your achievements, hard work and

citizenship,” he said. “It’s a day for you to get rowdy and spirited, but

also listen when you are needed to be still.”

Eighth-grade student Keilana Stallworth grabbed her fellow students’

attention with her rendition of the song, “Angel of Mine.” Eight-grader

Nikki Ulrich danced front and center to music from the “Nutcracker”

where, in one of the program’s light moments, four male teachers acted as

her backup dancers. “That’s what’s great about this day -- we never know

what to expect from some of these performances. It’s a day to have fun,”

Malotte said.

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.