By: Damini O and Amara N
Most students expect the major events of Germantown Academy’s Upper School to feel superior than the ones in Middle School. But, House Olympics, Upper School’s twist on Lower School Field Day, felt less exciting than expected.
On May 1, GA had their annual House Olympics Competition, bringing the Upper School community together through sports, amusement and competition. The day was full of various challenges and events, but many students walked away with a variety of opinions about what unfolded. Compared to the synchronicity and overall spirit of the Middle Schools’ Greek Day, it is evident that House Olympics lacks some key qualities that shape the experience of these highly awaited days.
Though students had more freedom in choosing their activities compared to the strictly planned events of Greek Day, the individuality that House Olympics aimed for, missed the mark this year. Most students suffered from either a lack of events, or a mishap in which they missed their events due to the poor scheduling of the day.
Ana Miller ‘26, former Truesdell Prefect, who played a role in the planning of House Olympics, commented on the structure of events.
“We started early almost every year, it’s not properly communicated, and people don’t really know what events to go to when,” Miller said.
Miller explained that the timing changes and miscommunicated schedule created major confusion for both participants and organizers. She also noted that using alternative ways to schedule events would greatly benefit students to navigate the day.
“It might be helpful to, like, label time blocks with periods A, B, C” Miller said., “Instead of just saying “this time to this time…?”
Additionally, to the scheduling confusion, the lack of activities scheduled for individuals led to an underwhelming day of waiting around hours for their events to start. This could be improved if House Olympics were to take the feature of team events from Greek Day, like how each Greek team, Sparta, Athens and Persia participate in events throughout the whole day, only stopping for small periods of time to recharge.
Student Damisi Owolabi ‘29 corroborated on the challenges of House Olympics and how Greek Day was more optimal for her.
“I feel that Greek Day was so much better, mostly because events, you were able to do them consecutively, and there wasn’t much waiting around..”
Despite the criticism surrounding the organization and scheduling of House Olympics, it provided a fun opportunity to step away from classes, connect with peers and participate in friendly competition. As the tradition continues to evolve, feedback, and inspiration from its predecessor Greek Day will further help shape House Olympics into a day filled with stronger spirit and participation schoolwide.