Excited students quickly filled the warm gym as senior, Sammy Qabazard and his band performed a few songs until everyone was seated. Then, everyone cheered as the annual “Battle of the Classes” officially began.

This year, almost everyone thought that the Battle of the Classes, the leadership team’s fun competition between grade levels, was very entertaining and has significantly improved from last year. Even before today, rumors were going around that the Leadership staff had outstanding plans for the Battle of the Classes. Senior Abigail Cummins said, “I’ve heard a lot of hype about it this year.” Usually, all of that hype goes to waste and the Battle of the Classes seems mediocre and the games are overplayed. However, that was not the case this year.

There were four competitions this year. The first competition consisted of apple bobbing and crawling across the gym floor. The second competition was a dance off. The third competition required the contestants to remember lyrics to a randomly selected song. The music genre ranged from oldies, to pop, to country. Almost every girl in the gym sang along when Senior Anna Lynch recalled the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Love Story.”

What appeared to be the highlight of the event was when Junior Alay Tedla ran across the gym to grab Lynch’s microphone and said Kanye West’s infamous interruption line “Beyonce had the best record of all time!” That simply killed the crowd and everyone broke down in laughter.

As Leadership was getting ready for the fourth competition, musical chairs, Senior Thao Nguyen said that this year’s Battle of the Classes “was actually pretty good. Leadership worked really hard this year.”

Suddenly, a fight broke out within the junior crowd, the cause unclear. Administrators and teachers quickly took control and took out the trouble makers. Students later agreed that that fight was very immature and completely unnecessary. Senior Devon Merchant, a Leadership staff member, rightfully scolded the junior class by reminding them that the Battle of the Classes means representing their class. Those involved in the fight were cited as unfortunately damaging the junior class’s image.

As every year, the seniors won the Battle of the Classes. The event had new and entertaining games and activities and everyone looked as though they were having fun. Junior Liam McGhee said, “I thought it was pretty good,” although, “I think they should have more events that involve more participation.”

What made this event more enjoyable was the fact that all of the proceeds for the Battle of the Classes will go directly to help the victims in Haiti. Nguyen said at the event’s conclusion that this year’s Battle of the Classes was “definitely the best one.”

However, all of this praise and approval leads to one question: can the Leadership staff meet everyone’s expectations for next year’s Battle of the Classes?