The week everyone looks forward to every year finally happened.  That’s right, Spirit Week rocked Paint Branch and showed that nothing gets the school going like “friendly” competition among the classes.

Spirit Week 2013 was one for the books, as everyone brought out their best all week long to celebrate another homecoming at Paint Branch.   On Monday, October 7th, Paint Branch students and staff rolled out of bed and showed up to school in their comfiest pajamas. Along with fuzzy slippers and stuffed animals, “onesies” seemed to be the most-popular trend on Pajama Day. Senior Nhi Le found it the most-popular spirit day because “everyone gets to be comfortable and it doesn’t take effort.”

Tuesday was MVP Day. While it was expected that everyone would dress up as their favorite hero, it seems that this spirit day wasn’t clearly understood, so it had sparse participation. MVP attire was mostly associated with sports, as many donned their favorite team’s gear. However, among the sports jerseys were a smattering of superheroes and video-game characters such as Batman and Mario.

Wacky Tacky Wednesday gave people the opportunity to express their inner colors, literally. Students and staff showed off multiple layers of bright colors and crazy patterns. Mismatched socks and shoes were a common sight, and senior Kimberly Hall even donned an all-zebra ensemble.

Students had a real “#tbt” moment on Throwback Thursday as they dressed up as if they had time-traveled from another decade.  From the Victorian era all the way to ‘70s hippies, walking through Paint Branch was like walking through history. Also, despite the rainy weather, seniors still participated in the traditional Toga Thursday and displayed their inner Greek gods and goddesses.

Friday, classes concluded Spirit Week with Class Colors Day. Freshman wore white, sophomores wore gold, juniors wore burgundy, and seniors wore black. At the Pep Rally, seniors stormed across the gym, riling up the crowd of underclassmen. The marching band, cheer, poms, and guy poms had everyone cheering, dancing, and laughing.

“It was great. I can’t wait for next year!” freshman Michael Ngo said excitedly.

Congratulations goes out to the Homecoming Court for 2013: freshman court, Nischal Paudel and Leslie Lizama; sophomore court Jalen Davis and Ariani Arias; junior court Ryan Stango and Lauryn Edmonds and, last but not least, the senior class, Michael Duncan, Funmi Daramola, Troy Green, Jada Jones, Chiedozie Obi, and Tina Vo.  At the dance, Michael Duncan and Tina Vo took the grand titles of King and Queen.

Despite the inclement weather, Paint Branch students, staff, and even alumni came out to support the varsity football team in their game against Northwest High School. The game was a nail-biter as the score was tied 28-28, sending it into overtime. Unfortunately Northwest won by a field goal, making the final score 31-28. Panther fans still cheered loud and hard for their dedicated football team and all the hard work they put into the game.

On Saturday, the long-awaited homecoming dance arrived. Girls came dressed to impress, and boys came in their best suits and ties. This year’s theme was Casino Royale, as the cafeteria was transformed into a top casino with lights, cards and slot-machine walls. Students danced and took photos of this memorable night. With such a great turnout for this year’s homecoming, surely next year’s will be even bigger and better.