Winterfest not only shines a spotlight on winter sports, but it gives students an opportunity to have fun.

Mrs. Kim Jamell, Spanish teacher and Student Council moderator, said, “There’s Catholic Schools Week, but high schools don’t do as much with that as kids did in grade school. Winter is long, so we try to make it a little bit of a fun break.”

Winterfest offers an intermission to usual academic work.

“I think it’s kind of a nice break in winter when we don’t have a break until spring. It’s kind of nice to have something to do there,” Jamell said.

The week highlights winter sports and recognizes those student athletes. “We try to celebrate the winter sports. We try to (acknowledge) all three seasons,” Jamell said.

Unlike Homecoming, students do not compete. It is not about challenging other classes.

Jamell said, “One of the things that I love about Winterfest is that it is not a big competition, so it’s just a fun week. It doesn’t focus on competition, so it’s more relaxing for kids.”

In addition to not being competitive, Winterfest offers simpler dress down days than those of Homecoming. “The days are very low-key dress-up days that are easy to accomplish,” Jamell said.

Arguably, the Winterfest assembly is the most popular part of the week. It offers multiple activities as a way to give students a form of relaxation. “I love the assembly because it gives students a break. They love the dance team, the ping pong, the basketball. They love all that stuff,” Jamell said.

Unlike past Winterfest assemblies, today’s assembly will be briefer. “(The assembly) is a little bit shorter, because we have to fit it into that Mass schedule. It’s usually an hour and a half. We took out a lot of the things and it’s really the bare bones, like cheerleading, dance, Latin Dance, the basketball game and ping pong,” Jamell said.

The Student Council plays an important role in Winterfest. “Our Student Council really does a lot. It’s truly Student Council and they really do the work, so sometimes we remove obstacles, talk to administrators. (Student Council) really handles most of it,” Jamell said.

Winterfest introduces freshmen and new students to the traditions of the school. Jamell said, “I think the Golden Paddle is a big tradition, and kids seem to remember that and like it. It’s easy dress up days and that seems to stick with them.”

Jamell said this annual event has been widely accepted and embraced by the student body. The purpose of the week is for students to relax and have a bit of fun.

“I think for the most part there’s really positive reactions. You know we have some funny things. I think kids like it a lot,” Jamell said.

In addition to Winterfest, the Coffee House Jam allows musicians share their art. “The Coffee House Jam is awesome, because we get to see so much talent,” Jamell said.