Clash of Classes

Olivia Kim • January 1, 2026

Cheers, uproars and competitive spirit filled the bleachers as Peninsula gathered at the first class competition in years that included the entire school: the Clash of Classes. Unlike past pep rallies which were held in the gymnasium with a double-assembly bell schedule, on Oct. 17, Associated Student Body (ASB) brought the entire school together on the football field for a lively inter-class competition and pep rally. In August, ASB was told that the bleachers in the gym were broken, preventing the usual pep rally schedule and location. While they discussed different ideas about what they would do with the rallies, they ultimately landed on the possibility of doing this pep rally. ASB saw this change as a way to foster spirit and school involvement in a new, exciting way.

With games, dynamic dances and booming music all packed into one class period, the rally presented ASB with months of work and preparation. Regular class competitions typically take only three to four days to organize, but the huge increase in numbers of students and the change of location made the Clash of Classes take around 2 months to plan. Due to the location change, ASB could not include the vibrant, colorful lighting that normally helps create the atmosphere in indoor pep rallies. To make sure that the Clash of Classes still felt energetic and spirited, ASB installed sound systems, microphones and speakers for music and announcements and spent hours making class banners and blowing up balloons in the class colors. Aside from this, ASB posted countdowns and promotions on Instagram and TikTok in order to fuel excitement for the rally. Sophomore class representative Charlise Caoile described how ASB’s teamwork helped this rigorous planning go smoothly.

“I’m very lucky to be working with such hard working ASB students, as we were able to accomplish lots of work, with top productivity and efficiency. It’s easy to work so diligently when your peers are so helpful,” Caoile said. “Everyone is really on top of all their jobs, and the speed of the work this year is really good. [The rally made us all] come together. It’s a good way to have fun, but we are also working [hard] while we are doing it.”

Although the pep rally did go smoothly, a challenging aspect of planning was recruiting student representatives, who competed in the class games and finding the time to run-through the games.Unlike past rallies where participants were simply selected from the current seasonal sports, each grade had a group of selected students and teachers who participated in the games along with the class representatives for their class. With the larger space of the football field, the games were bigger in scale and required many more participants. This brought forth another challenge because it proved difficult for ASB to successfully recruit spirited students due to communication issues or sudden drop outs from the rally. Despite this, the Clash of Classes generated plenty of positive reactions from students such as sophomore Chloe Cao who enjoyed competing in the competition.

“The pep rally was my favorite. Not only because I participated, but also because of the participation from [other] students. Participating in the balloon popping contest was really exciting,” Cao said. “I also loved cheering on the class of 2028 in the stands because there was so much enthusiasm from the students.”

Along with the students, teachers also participated in the class competition games. By incorporating teachers like the football kickoff competition into the games, ASB hoped to boost enthusiasm among the students by watching their teachers compete. ASB also had the teacher class representatives in the front of the bleachers to hype the students’ spirits. Many students were excited to take a break from classes and see their teachers win points for their class and participate.

As the Class of Clashes rally came to an end, students had an exciting time watching students and teachers compete in games and cheering alongside their classmates. Many students felt connected to Peninsula and eager to participate in school events and spirit. ASB president senior Sasha Skyar reflected on what she wanted students to get out of the pep rally.

“I think what makes high school more fun is the fact that you have all these events that you get to do with your friends and make memories,” Skyar said. “Our whole goal this year was to make it really inclusive and to bring the spirit and fun back into high school. It started with having our outdoor movie night, and then it transitioned into this huge pep rally where I literally saw the most people dressed out. It is really cool.”