SAUGUS — The gym at Saugus High School was a sea of red on Wednesday. Students filled the bleachers to roaring cheers and chants of “Beat Peabody!” as they closed out a week of festivities before Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day football game.
The exuberant display showcased that Sachem pride is very much alive and well during the school’s final color day before moving to a new state-of-the-art middle-high school building next year.
For many of the school’s faculty, however, ‘bittersweet’ was the day’s recurring sentiment.
“It’s really sad to see an older building and tradition go because you don’t see a lot of these older gymnasiums any more,” said cheer coach Courtney Whitaker, who attended many rival basketball games in the school’s gymnasium as a student at Beverly High School, and whose mother graduated from Saugus High School in 1972.
“At the same time, it’s something these kids so deserve and need,” she said.
Principal Michael Hashem noted Saugus’ faculty wouldn’t be the only ones feeling nostalgic on this year’s game day.
“Even Peabody is a little bit sad,” he said of Saugus’ game-day rivals. “They recognize the significance that this could be the last time they’re playing Thanksgiving Day football at Stackpole field.”
Inside the gym, life went on the same as it has since the school first opened its doors to students in 1955. With floor to ceiling decorations, fun costumes, and countless posters bearing the school colors of red, white, and black, each class worked hard to show they were the ones with the most Sachem pride.
The students themselves had mixed emotions when it came to recognizing the significance of this particular spirit week. When asked how he felt about celebrating his last spirit week in the building, junior Zach Spilman said, “honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I’m going to miss it though.”
Senior Mario Desimone said, “It’s sad being a senior. [It’s] our last ride, so we gotta go all out.”
He admitted it was a strange feeling to realize that spirit week as Saugus knows it would not continue after his departure, adding: “It’s not going to be the same.”
Assistant principal Rick Doucette, whose voice was hoarse from cheering alongside the students, said: “It’s really bittersweet to see the last [spirit week] and have these kids experience it here in the same gym that I did, that my siblings all did.”
The class of ’87 alumnus added: “It’s bittersweet but exciting at the same time.”
As for next year, the Sachems’ spirit week plans very much still hang in the balance.
“We’re going to have to get in there and see how everything looks,” Doucette said.
