EHS administration wants to see your R.O.A.R. 

This week, EPIC and the guidance department have set up theme days, performances, trivia contests and more to encourage the implementation of the four core values they introduced to the student body at the beginning of this year: respect, opportunity, attitude and responsibility. 

According to sophomore EPIC member Sloan Watson, the guidance department planned most of the R.O.A.R. week activities, bringing in the club several months ago to finalize the plans for this week.

“The purpose of the week was to try and enforce the acronym R.O.A.R.,” Watson said. “Throughout the year, EPIC–along with the staff– have noticed an overall lack of respect in the school, so we hoped this week would be fun as well as help encourage respectful actions.”

And for many, it has. Senior Josh Stout has taken advantage of several of the festivities, wearing red for Monday’s dress-up day. 

“I like having theme weeks,” Stout said. “It creates a sense of unity and inclusion throughout the school when a lot of people participate. It also adds an aspect of fun to school.”

For Stout, R.O.A.R. week draws greater attention to the four values and advocates for constructive behaviors. 

“I think people are responding in a positive way to it, especially with the activities going on,” Stout said. “And at least the people I have heard talk about it are happy that they have created the R.O.A.R. posters and this spirit week.”

As the year ends, R.O.A.R week celebrations remind students of expectations and to take a moment to celebrate helpful behaviors in a different way. 

“It helps set out expectations for the students in different areas of the school,” Stout said. “It is definitely beneficial in the school setting because it is written expectations that everyone should know but set out in different areas of the school and reinforced to help keep them in mind.” 

Junior Jaden Hernandez agreed.

“I think [R.O.A.R.] is a good concept in general,” Hernandez said. “It promotes good values and behaviors, and promotes treating others with kindness. I think the school could use some more positive and uplifting initiatives, and this idea could cover that.”

But R.O.A.R. week and the importance of the R.O.A.R values has lacked attention this week and throughout much of this year, according to Hernandez.

“I believe at the beginning of the school year, they put out the posters telling us what our values should be, but somewhere along the lines it was lost in translation,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t hear anything about the R.O.A.R. initiative through announcements, and there was not much enforcement of the concept.” 

Freshman Luca Tallerico, too, thought that R.O.A.R. week and the messages it is trying to promote needed to have a stronger approach.

“A somewhat catchy slogan will not make people ‘act good,’” Tallerico said.

Dress up days and the trivia games during lunch sound fun, but have been going unadvertised and unrecognized. 

“I think it’s a cool idea to get people involved,” Stout said. “However, I have noticed in the [cafeteria] some people seem to not pay attention or try and disregard it.”

For Hernandez, communication is key in making the rest of the R.O.A.R. week celebrations successful. 

“Get the teachers more involved, and get more extracurricular clubs and sports involved,” Hernandez said. “The more you talk about these values and make it fun for everyone involved, the more effective it will be. It just needs more exposure, and it should be easy for everyone to do.”