Zoo leaders at PDS are in charge of rallying students for student life events. This year in particular, they are involved in a variety of student life activities, like Student Council and the performing arts department. Interested students applied at the start of the school year and were chosen based on their excitement for all PDS events. Director of Athletics Katie Fay stresses that “one of the really important things about spirit is that it’s not just about athletics, so we need to make sure that we have student representation from all groups and areas.” Last year, zoo members were solely athletes, but students agreed that the competitive attitude added to the excitement, especially concerning sports games.
This year, there are eleven leaders compared to last year’s six. Some students agreed that this might not be necessary, bringing up a controversial topic. Junior Amelia Nemeth, one zoo leader, thinks that “as long as the leaders are good and bring energy, the number doesn’t matter.” Zoo Leader and Senior Shelby Ruf, who was against the idea at first, commented, “Ms. Fay explained that, once the seniors leave for senior projects, it’s harder for them to show up, so it helps that the juniors will be able to step more into that leadership role. It’s just more opportunities to get people fired up. I like it.” Plus, juniors can continue being leaders in their senior year, bringing more experience to the team.
Will an increased number of zoo leaders reduce complaints about PDS’s school spirit? Junior Luci McKee says,“this school is so unhype, and we need to be hype.” Because of the zoo’s slow start this year, they haven’t had a chance to demonstrate real progress in getting more people to show up and be supportive of their fellow athletes and performers. Despite this, they still have the rest of the school year to develop the larger culture of school spirit everyone wants for PDS. Ms. Fay says the zoo’s success this year is “to be determined. It’s a terrific group, and I am very excited about the energy they bring.” Shelby feels confident, saying that “this is the rise of PDS athletics and the zoo and it’s going to be great!”
