Clash - The True March Madness

You may have noticed no update for February, but that's because we've been hard at work preparing for Clash of the Halls. As Joe previously mentioned, Clash is a week long competition every March from Student Council and their amazing Campus Activities Board. But, we have been hard at work preparing for the week long competition that took place two weeks before Spring Break since right after Lunar New Year in late-January, early-February.

On Monday, we thought hard (pun intended) and secured second place in the Think Tank competition. While we were hard at work, judges went around and gave our hall 1st place on hall decorations. Come the night event, we took seventh in hall movie. While not the result we were hoping for, the increase year over year in the quality of 1501's movies is not to be discounted, and we are incredibly proud of the work our residents put in.

For the decoration contest, we turned the hall commons into our very own treasure map.

01 hard at work in the Think Tank competition.

On Tuesday, two of our residents Becca E. ('19) and Nyxel C. ('18) represented 01 in the cake decorating competition. Using innovative methods such as turning a paper towel into a  frosting bag, they transformed the cake into a beautiful pirate hat, earning us 4th place in
a difficult competition. Later that evening for Talent Show, two groups of pirates set off individually on hunts for treasure, and after a brief scuffle, decided to set apart their differences and work together to find treasure. While the treasure of first place may not have been obtained (we got 5th), the true treasure of fun and entertainment was as we had the entire auditorium in applause.

On Wednesday, in the Game Show, residents worked hard in a variety of challenges, including doughnut string trivia, ramen challenge, gummy bear hunts, and making breakfast. We earned 4th place for this event.

Thursday brought the main event--pep rally--and more than half of the points. During midday, as judges scored our hall mural portraying the diversity themes of sizes and physical disabilities (6th place), our profile photo (7th place), and our t-shirt designs (6th place), the Campus Activities Board (including 1501's very own Diego A. ('18)) provided supplies and designs for amazing face paint masterpieces. Come evening, armed with out 1501 flag and banners galore, pep rally began. While specific place values from Pep Rally are unavailable, residents of 01 participated in events such as Obstacle Course in which 12 residents navigated the turbulent seas of each hall's theme, Food Eating Contest in which 4 residents ate a wide variety of foods as fast as they could, and seniors Yoanna I., Alex H., Giezelle C., and Dan M. participated in this year's senior game. Lastly, our residents showed off their dancing skills in Drill Team, which had been practicing every night for the past month.

Our annual pre-Clash pep rally hall photo with the "01" hand symbol

While we may have gotten last place in score, we got first in fun. We had an amazing party that night and to celebrate everyone's hard work, Colette and Adam made a pancake breakfast for the hall the next morning.

Additional photos will soon be available from our amazing IMSA Student Productions team and videos of talent show and pep rally should be available on YouTube already. Ask your student for access and more information!

With Clash and the third quarter of the academic year over, we start to look towards winding down the school year and transitioning into the next. While we still have many events left as an RSL team here in 1501, we have also begun the process of seeking next years RSL team. The CD application process is ongoing and the Wing Guide process will begin as soon as that ends. Anyone who's looking to get involved in either position for next year should reach out to any of the current RSL's, their RC, or 1501's RSL Liaison Joe Mastrocola.