Students eagerly lined up to play games ranging from traditional carnival games to inflatable ones. On Jan. 23, the Quad was filled with the excitement of students playing Throw the Ring in the Bottle and gladiator games among others as they enjoyed food from food trucks in the company of friends.

Intended to help students relax and celebrate a successful week of inspiration, the carnival in the Quad ended Speak Up for Change week in a fun and different way.

“We [had] a variety of activities for all students,” Leadership adviser Rebeca Marshburn said. “The carnival [was meant to] help students relieve some of that stress they have to go through here and school and home on a daily basis in a really fun kind of way.”

The cafeteria was open for the entire lunch, and three food trucks sold churros and burritos along with vegetarian and other food options.

“I liked the food truck but it was a little bit hectic,” junior Corinne Bryan said.

The administration agreed to modify the Friday schedule with one-hour periods to create time for the assembly and carnival.

For the Leadership class, student participation was especially important.

“We wanted to make sure everyone could be on campus for [the events on Friday], so we moved sixth [period] since a lot of people have it as their free period,” junior Luke Salin said. “We also didn’t want periods ending the day because we figured it would be best to get learning out of the way and just enjoy the [rest of the day].”

While Speak Up for Change week was about spreading kindness, its sub-theme Ignite Your Spark stressed the importance of pursuing one’s passions.

“Do what you love and love what you do” was written on countless posters around school as a way to inspire students to follow their dreams.

The carnival was a pilot project by assistant  principal Kerry Mohnike and the Leadership crew to have something other than just assemblies to mark the week. According to Marshburn, the idea has been in the making for a year.

“[Last year they] had thought about this so we decided to go ahead and do what they had planned this year,” Marshburn said.

In the future, there will be different events at the end of each Speak Up for Change week, since the carnival was a big success in helping the students relax.

“[It was] a nice stress-free afternoon which was good because I’m taking the SAT tomorrow,” junior Bita Naimi said.

The Leadership class has yet to decide the plans for next year, as they have been primarily focused on this year’s.

“If we have exactly the same stuff every year, it loses that spark,” Marshburn said.