The school year has officially kicked off and Granada now embarks on traditional welcomes and welcome backs to its students. One tradition in particular has Granada students busy and excited, this is called skit. Skit is an annual performance including acting and dancing enhanced by big props and fun costumes. Each grade is tasked with producing a skit of their own, under a given theme, that they must perform the week of homecoming. This tradition has become a fond experience for many of the students here and manages to loop in many participants within each grade. The themes this year are freshmen – into the city, sophomores – into the Superbowl, juniors – into the toy box, and seniors – into the stars. Students eagerly await homecoming week to watch as each skit unfolds its hard work through its performances and fun decorations. During school hours prior to homecoming week, the buzz and anticipation grow as students attend meetings and workshops to perfect their skits.
Although many of the student body participates in skit not all are aware of the intricate system that permits it to run so smoothly. The main structure that keeps skit organized and running is Granada’s leadership program led by Mrs. Gatehouse. Nya Dunken, a sophomore who is a part of leadership, elaborates, “We started planning for skit last school year. We throw out ideas and then pick our skit theme a few weeks into the new school year.” Nya continues to deconstruct leadership tactics for tackling skit, “class officers are in charge of putting together all the different skits. Usually, two class officers take on each task and we have class office meetings once a week.”
Alongside the acting and the music, there is dancing which is a prominent feature in skits. Brookelyn Petit, a member of Granada’s dance team and one of the instructors for the sophomore skit dance states, “It is not mandatory for the dance team to participate in skit but we like to do it since we are all comfortable choreographing dances. Usually, leadership asks us and we are happy to do so.” She goes on to say, “We start planning skit dances right after we announce our theme.” The responsibilities for skit are broken up into five main groups: the actors, dancers, props team, scriptwriters, and the tech crew. Together these groups allow homecoming week to come to life. It is impressive to note the work and effort put into the little amount of time given to prepare for the final performance and skit is undoubtedly a production that never fails to succeed expectations.
The bustling atmosphere and excitement however have some students in disagreement with the exhilaration of skit finding it overwhelming and difficult to manage, others feel that it is an important staple for student life at Granada. Many believe that it connects students to others and builds a stronger atmosphere within the student body and school. Dunken states, “Personally, I have met a lot of people through skit, it’s definitely a good way to talk to new people.”
Not only is skit important for the connection of students to their school, but it can also provide participants with good habits and new skills that can be applied to daily life such as leadership, time management, scheduling, and communication. It is important to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes functions that allow skit to be such a luminous experience. Alya Shafqat, president of the class of 2026, states, “I think that people in leadership are really good at taking initiative; they are like [the] director who knows how to do things and is really good at delegating.”
The freshmen who have never experienced skit at Granada are excited to see what homecoming week will look like for them. Anya Johnson, a new freshman at Granada, states, “I think it’ll hype up the homecoming game a lot but I’m not really sure what to expect.” It seems that many of the freshmen are eagerly waiting for skit week to arrive. Every skit is always an adventure that the students await to unravel. Homecoming week is upon us and the anticipation is nearly palpable. With the hard-working leadership team, there is no doubt that there will be more excellent skits to come.
