For the past few years, the winter rally has been exactly 35 spirited minutes of games, cheering and class rivalry. But this year, students will experience four full days of Greek-themed spirit, all leading up to the winter rally on Friday.

From Jan. 17 to Jan. 20, the MVHS leadership class will host Greek Week, a four-day spirit competition between the classes. The week will consist of dress-up days from Tuesday through Thursday and end with the annual winter rally, Battle at Mount Olympus, on Friday. Greek-themed lunchtime activities will also take place throughout the week as a chance for students to earn points for their respective class.

“In previous years, [the winter rally] existed on its own,” ASB Treasurer senior Kevin Chang said. “We thought by introducing a week that was thematically tied together …  we could have a more spirited winter rally.”

At the rally, seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen will each represent Greek mythology gods Zeus, Artemis, Poseidon and Hades, respectively. Points earned from dress-up days, lunchtime activities and the rally will determine the winner of Greek Week. Lunchtime activities include the Performance of the Muses on Tuesday, the Battle of Strength on Wednesday and the Battle of Love on Thursday. Math and science questions created by teachers Jim Birdsong, Kavita Gupta and Jon Stark will also be posted around campus throughout the week as part of the Battle of Wits.

According to Chang, the idea of Greek Week came about during an ASB brainstorm session, during which the Leadership class decided to devote an entire week to class competition.

“We wanted to emulate the spirit of Homecoming while introducing some fresh concepts to the student body,” Chang said. “Greek Week seemed like an interesting alternative.”

The dress-up day themes for Greek Week are Tuesday, Jan. 17: music; Wednesday, Jan. 18: survival of the fittest; Thursday, Jan. 19: prom; Friday, Jan. 20: Greek. Check back on El Estoque throughout the week for coverage of Greek Week.