The annual Versus assembly was held on March 10, a week of proud celebration and competition for Cleveland students and teachers. The weeklong festivities resulted in a match between upperclassmen, lowerclassmen, and staff, who all fought hard to be declared Versus winners. The assembly was wildly fun; everyone showed pride in our wonderful, spirited school!

Assigned to each day of Versus week was a different theme: Monday was Greasers vs. Hipsters; Tuesday, Muggles vs. Wizards; Wednesday was Deep Sea vs. Outer Space; Thursday (assembly day) was Green vs. Gold, and finally Friday, Going Out vs. Staying In. Students showed creativity in their costumes ideas, some going all the way out. Taylor Lewis, junior, could be seen on Deep Sea day wearing a hand-crafted umbrella-jellyfish.

As well as the themes, there were new scavenger hunt questions posted in the main hall each day. The answer would lead to a teacher’s room, where another clue was given. Points were awarded to the grade of the problem solver, going into the assembly, each group-underclassmen, upperclassman, and staff- one point.

When assembly day came rolling around, everybody seemed to bring their A game: Most seniors and juniors were decked out in bright green, and even most of the freshman class was dressed up in their assigned yellow color. Facepaint was applied and beads were passed out; it was officially the beginning of Versus.

We started off the assembly with the classic role call. Upperclassmen gained a point for being loudest, using noisemakers and chanting fast in unison. Next up were the games, which would award points to the winners of the groups. Racing across the room, being duct taped against the wall, eating unknown foods blindfolded, and finishing a puzzle were just some of the activities. Freshmen fought hard, but couldn’t compete with the fierce juniors and seniors.
Later on was a sneak peak of the talent show that also played along with the point system. Representatives of the lowerclassmen were singers Ruby Hunter and Charlotte Nicholson, who sang “Can’t Help Falling In Love” originally by Elvis Presley, while playing the ukulele. This slow and moving song caused all of the underclassmen to put their phones up and wave together as if at a concert. This beautiful piece was followed by Elijah Tan, who yo-yoed to a catchy beat, freestyling on-the-spot. His act was truly amazing and showed talent. Lastly, Mr. Nims, representing the teachers, did a solo electric guitar anthem that wowed the crowd. It was up to the mom squad, a team of Cleveland students’ mothers to decide who received the winning point. The upperclassmen did, but they remained surprisingly close to the underclassmen score.

Next was the notorious dance-off between the three competing teams. For the underclassmen, freshman Robbie Lyons and sophomore Drew Cooksey took the stage–well, gym floor–and performed to top dance hits of the decade, spicing it up with the currently most popular dance moves including “whip,” “nae nae,” and “the quan.” They executed it with style and charm. Junior Shanta Palshikar and senior Gabe Beck followed, dancing to “Getcha Head in the Game” from the greatest childhood movie of all time, High School Musical. Although not as polished as the underclassmen, it was certainly entertaining. Neither matched up to the amazing performance put on by the staff: Heidi Sause and Darryl Miles took on the job and outdid the students. They danced to the classic electric slide, putting in all of their energy and getting just as much from the crowd, earning them the point for the dance-off round.    

Now, it was time to step up the game: Conor Bergin, junior, went out onto the assembly floor to perform an original rap to the tune of Sunday Candy by Donnie Trumpet & Chance the Rapper. He sang to Jan Watt, whose name was included in the chorus of the song, renaming it “Cleveland Candy.” His fantastic surprise performance earned the juniors and seniors an extra brownie point, putting the upperclassmen in the lead.

The final activity of the day was Wheel of Misfortune, a game played by volunteers from the crowd. Each spin resulted in a new challenge that included dancing, singing and shooting a basketball. This put the underclassmen dangerously close to the upperclassmen. This caused the mom squad to choose between the classes, based off of how much spirit each had. Each class threw up their arms, began screaming and yelling, hoping that they would be the “most spirited.”

As tradition usually goes, the upperclassmen won. It was a well-fought battle between the grades and teachers, but the ferocity and energy of the juniors and seniors rewarded them in the end. Once again, leadership has pulled off a great assembly, and one that seniors will hopefully remember forever. Stay spirited Cleveland!