At Redwood High School many teams, clubs, and classes have traditions throughout the year to make everyone come together and connect.
By: Emma Largoza and Adriana Soria-Rosales
Girls Varsity Water Polo annually participates in the midnight swim which includes bonding, swimming in silence, and goals for the upcoming season. A favorite part of the midnight swim was going to Denny’s. Emily Dean, ‘26, shared, “It was really fun because we all went to Denny’s after and got to hang out and eat good food.”
Redwood FFA hosts a member meeting every December called “Hobo Stew.” FFA students bring a couple of cans of food each and combine them in a big pot, creating the “Hobo Stew.” They serve it with bread and it’s perfect for a cold day.
Cheer has a tradition called cheernapping, which involves the Freshmen, JV, and Varsity teams. All new cheerleaders that are new to Redwood Cheer get cheernapped. This happens at 5:30 in the morning and is supposed to surprise the person getting cheernapped. Camile Du Toit, ‘28, was cheernapped by two seniors on Varsity Cheer. Du Toit said, “I got kidnapped and had no idea what was going on. Then we went to pick up another girl and I started screaming at her, but they made me keep my blindfold on.”
ASB and Dance Force each have a big and little program that goes on throughout the year. A big is an upperclassman and a little is a freshman or sophomore. Kadence Hetherington, ‘28, in ASB, was paired with Miranda Rojas, ‘25, as her big. Hetherington shared recently, “We received a basket of our favorite things.” These baskets included candy, gum, and matching T-shirts! The big and little program helps the ‘little’ jump into the Redwood community and feel connected.
Photo A.Ceballos/Gigantea
The Gigantea has a newer tradition called The Great Book of Editors. The previous Editors-in-Chief writes memories, lessons, and advice in this book. Donya Hassanshahi, ‘24, was one of the Editors-in-Chief during the 23-24 school year for the Gigantea. In her writing, she exclaimed, “Have trust for your team: that is the most important element of the Gigantea.” All of the Editors-in-Chief write these things for the next generation of leaders in the Gigantea to read and learn from for years to come.
Photo N.Miller/Gigantea
Brienna Burr was an Editor-in-Chief in the 23-24 school year, she shared what the Gigantea is to her, “The Gigantea has a long history of being one of the first resources incoming students and staff members look at when entering the RHS community, I was one of them.”
“The Gigantea is built of a variety of writers with different backgrounds, but no matter what they all experienced their first year at Redwood. The Gigantea is a place where everyone can find their RHS community, through pictures, words, podcasts, and more!”
Adriana Soria-Rosales
