Unity Day at Duchesne Academy

Unity Day concluded Duchesne’s exciting spirit week with outdoor activities, friendly competition, and class bonding. Unity Day began with students relaxing on the White House field with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, music, and painting sheets. The weather was beautiful after the cold front, so the air was crisp, and the sun added the perfect amount of warmth. Students expressed their creative sides while jamming out to some hits like I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston and No Scrubs by TLC. Students wrote their class slogans on the ground with sidewalk chalk while others painted watercolors on printed sheets on the picnic benches.

Hannah Thompson, Lauren Campbell, and Mary Longo after the dodgeball game against the sophomores. (Photo: Tessa Harfenist)

After that, it was time for the Unity Day dodgeball games. The Juniors competed against the Sophomores while the Seniors competed against the Freshmen. Again, music was played in the gymnasium to further enhance the fun and community building essence of the competition. The Juniors defeated the Sophomores coming back from a jailbreak and the Seniors defeated the Sophomores after a close competition. 

Kaely Suarez and Andrea Lessmann tossing a water balloon on the lawn. (Photo: Tessa Harfenist)

In the afternoon, Upper School students went to sign their class Unity Day candles. It is a Duchesne tradition that a student from each grade decorates their grades’ candle. The students who decorated this year’s candle were Kate Kaler, Kiera Gilmour, Selene Yao, Audrey Hoang (9th), Charlotte Hergesell (10th), Andrea Lessmann (11th), and Alexis Vasquez (12th). The candles are lit at the prayer service at the end of the day by the Campus Ministry Representatives of each grade. After signing the candles, students relaxed on the White House lawn enjoying ice-cream and tossing water balloons.

Towards the end of the day, it was finally time for the much anticipated lip-sync battle. Students from each class had been choreographing and practicing their dances weeks prior to Unity Day. The lip-sync battle is judged by faculty and each class can choose their own song and dance choreography. This tradition brings the whole Upper School together because everyone laughs and supports their classmates and friends in different grades. The Freshmen performed to Baby (Justin Bieber), the Sophomores performed to Single Ladies (Beyonce), the Juniors performed to Super Trouper (ABBA), and the Seniors performed to Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor Swift).

Carmen Colon, Victoria Cramp, Sarah Jordan, Kaely Suarez, Sophia Rivera, and Molly Day preforming Super Trouper during their lip sync battle. (Photo: Tessa Harfenist)

Junior Class President Carmen Colon, who led the Juniors, said, “Unity Day was really fun because a ton of people got involved and we came out better friends at the end of the day. My favorite activity was the lip-sync battle because a lot of people put hard work into practices, and we performed so well.” Overall, each grade received great comments from the judges, but the Seniors ultimately won because of their great prop skills and senior spirit. 

To conclude Unity Day, the Campus Ministry put together a small prayer service to end the day in prayer and recognize their community. The Campus Ministries prayed that we may have a good year and continue to grow as a Duchesne Community. Kate Thorne, Junior Campus Ministry, prayed, “Lord we pray for the strength to approach every obstacle with faith… Help us to find positivity, peace, and love that you give us each and every day."