On August 21, 2024, students and faculty members of Dublin High started the school year off with a burst of energy and excitement with their annual Back to School Rally. Students, decked out in their class colors, competed for Gael Cup points for their class by participating in a series of games. Here’s a recap of the rally that started the school year with a sense of unity, enthusiasm, and anticipation of what’s to come in this school year. 

Most of the students had begun to take their seats when the door burst open. The seniors came rushing in, wearing gold crowns and dressed in white, their class color. This momentous opening by the seniors begins each annual Back to School Rally with eagerness of what’s coming next.

“For my first back to school rally, I was surprised by the Seniors’ entrance,” remarked a freshman. 

After the seniors took their seats, the lights dimmed to start the opening of the Gael Cup ceremony. Leadership representatives from each class began to introduce themselves by raising their class flag around the gym. The ceremony soon ended and the games began.

The first game involved a rhythmic gymnastics competition between handpicked students from each class. The sophomores and juniors faced off first. Afterwards, a set of judges composed of DHS teachers voted on which class had the better performance. In the first round, the juniors won after their representative performed impressive flips and gymnastic skills. For the next round, the seniors competed against the freshmen. In this round, the freshman started strong with their rhythmic gymnastic skills. However, they were soon beaten by the representative for the seniors, who performed grand flips and twirled the ribbon with precision. 

“My favorite part of the Back to School rally is when they choose students from the crowd to participate in the games,” a student shares.

Following the games, Ms. Dwyer introduced the Gaels CARES system. She outlined the benefits of positive student behavior and consequences of negative action related to the system. Following the presentation, the DHS Hip Hop Team performed a dance in front of the crowd.

“It has been a really long time since we’ve seen the Dublin High Hip Hop Team dance, so I thought their performance brought a sense of liveliness to the rally,” observed a senior. 

To end the rally, the leadership representatives introduced the last game for the classes: an obstacle course. The teachers indicated the obstacles in the course and the race began. The juniors went against the sophomores first, and after a close tie, the sophomores won. Subsequently, the seniors went against the freshmen. After a grueling course, the two teams of students ended up in a tie. To win the game, the two teams had to score three cornhole tosses first, and by the end, the seniors scored and won the round. 

After a series of games, stunning dance performances, and an introduction of the Gael Cup, the Back to School Rally came to an end. 

“I was looking forward to the Back to School Rally and the new beginnings that it brings. It made me feel very excited for what the future holds,” commented an anonymous junior.