allykmiecik

It was a brisk fall Monday after school. The school bell had just rung, signaling the end of school for most and the start of a weekly meeting for Student Board. The year: 2013. The concern: school spirit.

The sports teams were excelling as usual, but the hype and excitement of being a supportive Marian fan was at an all time low. Girls always talked about how well the sports teams were performing, but never really put forth the effort to make it to a game.

Similar situations were occurring with other Marian social events that used to be all the rage. Just the year before, the Welcome Dance, which is hosted by the Student Board, had a shockingly minuscule population of less than 100 girls.

Senior Student Board member Andie Hanus looked back on that dance and said, “Something needed to be done, and fast.”

During that Student Board meeting, a solution was found. The girls decided to create a system in which going to Marian events was encouraged and also rewarded.

Girls would be tallied as they came in the door of events, and points would be awarded to each person, which would contribute to an overall class total.

When asked about the name of the new idea, Hanus said, “The name we came up with for the system was simple, and it’s all about building our school spirit, which is exactly what ‘BOSS’ stands for ‘Building Our School Spirit.’”

Another main reason BOSS points were originally created is because there were many requests from Marian students to take the focus of Color Block solely off Walk-A-Thon, so that Field Day choices weren’t determined just by money brought in.

It just so happened that the school was in desperate need for attendance at games as well, so this was perfect timing.

BOSS points have, so far, been a very successful system to build our school spirit and raise attendance at school games and functions. Student Board’s hope is that, even though BOSS points started the excitement of school spirit back up, the students learn to go to the functions, dances, and sports games without expecting an award.

They should go with the intention of supporting Marian. Hanus said, “After all, we’re constantly making history here at Marian,” so make sure you’re there for the action.