On Friday, November 15, students crowded in the school gym to enjoy the “Peanuts” themed rally to celebrate sports and performing arts. By taking students’ feedback to heart, many different elements were introduced combined with better organization making it one of the best rallies yet. 

The theme for this rally was inspired by the childhood classic, showing it off with spirit days, vibrant decorations, and amazing acting during the rally. This theme was preferred by the students because of the nostalgic feel of the environment. 

“People were able to enjoy the theme because it’s something that a lot of students grew up watching so they were able to connect to it and say this is a part of [their] childhood,” Rally coordinator Marian Lin (12) said. 

This rally was set off to an exciting start as the Ayala band performed in front of the whole school, filling the ears of students with beautiful exhilarating melodies. 

After this performance, the different winter sports were introduced, giving the Bulldogs a boost of confidence to take into their seasons. These sports included Varsity wrestling, Varsity basketball, Varsity soccer, followed by Varsity water polo.

Continuing the rally, the rally game, which was musical chairs, was played with volunteers in the audience from all grade levels. As the players circled around the diminishing chairs, players got eliminated before crowning the sophomore winner, unleashing wild roars from the crowd. 

Following the rally game, Ayala Cheer made their mark, keeping the students awake with their astonishing performance. 

The people behind the scenes were recognized for their hard work as well, showing these students that they are seen too. These groups included Journalism, Yearbook, paso TM, and the athletic trainers. 

Continuing to the rally games, the Class of 2028 kicked it off with a jazzy saxophone solo. This was followed by the class of 2027 which was a cheer performance. The next performance was for the Class of 2026 where Sebastian Concepcion (11) danced to the infamous song “Bye bye bye” by NSYNC. The final performance was finished off with a live band performing a cover song of “The Adults are Talking” by the Strokes for the Class of 2025. 

The rally was finally finished off with the announcement of the National Merit Scholarship qualifiers—Ryan Chao (12), Caden Hong (12), Ethan Kim (12), and Chloe Mattison (12)—following the completion of the PSAT as well as a performance from Ayala dance production, closing the rally with an energetic end. 

In order to make sure this rally was successful, USB was required to start setting up a long time in advance to make sure everything was approved from the theme to the decorations. 

“In preparation, we planned everything a month before, because we already know things are gonna happen, something’s gonna come up and we’re gonna have to reschedule another thing,” USB student Jacob Medina (10) said. 

One of the biggest improvements by the United Student Body (USB) class that made this rally so much better was the organization that was put into it. Because of this, USB was able to implement new elements such as posters with the different names of the sports, adding a small detail that made a huge difference. 

“We had two extra backdrops and more decorations,” USB student Kieza Martinez (10) said. “We [also] improved in terms of recognizing our sports teams. For example, we had USB students carry posters to introduce sports as they came out from the backdrop.” 

With the implementation of new elements, a better theme, and better organization, USB was able to create a rally that was enjoyable and better overall compared to previous rallies.