It’s a bird!
It’s a plane!
It’s the Spirit Gang!
Seniors Nathan Lu, Tate McGovern, Matthew Shamblen, Grady Wachs, and Matthew Liepert, collectively calling themselves the spirit gang, entertained the 5a lunch group with their own Twelve Days of Christmas during the days leading up to winter break.
Each day, the Spirit Gang added one more piece of the song, starting with a partridge in a pear tree on December 3 and ending with twelve drummers drumming on December 18. They acted out the parts of the song with silly props. On December 19, they presented their Whoville performance, while everyone in the cafeteria sat in a big circle around a Christmas tree.
(L to R): Lucy Lu, Alexis Brody, Sydney Swansiger, Emilia Mikolic, Jules Churney, Rylee Shepard, Matthew Liepert (Robert J. Kalman)
The gang orchestrated varied stunts before the Twelve Days of Christmas, like bringing a whole bed inside the cafeteria for pajama day.
“Most of our ideas come from one of us randomly mentioning it, and the rest of the group liking it,” Liepert commented. He continued to say the 12 days of Christmas and the “Whoville” performance were no different. The group pitched it one day, and they jumped into action.
The Spirit Gang present the stunts for entertainment, but also for the long-lasting memories they will create. The group was “more focused on having fun with our friends and creating a moment that we will remember, breaking the dull flow of high school,” Liepert explained. “Particularly since it is our senior year, we know there are only a few months left, and thus don’t care about the judgment these stunts may cause.”
The performance featured handmade props for each day, with the group dividing the task among anyone with an idea. Each person was responsible for creating at least one prop for the twelve days of Christmas. As the days went on, more people started joining in on the performance, such as freshmen Liam Barstow, Lucy Lu and Sam Perlman.
The “Whoville” performance was not as prop-heavy, but it did require preparation. The group moved all of the cafeteria tables into a big circle and set up a small Christmas tree in the center. They then performed their own spin on The Grinch, and chaos ensued.
“The spirit gang is just as surprised as everyone else in regards to the chaotic scene that unfolded that Friday,” Liepert said. “As of right now, the spirit gang is on rest, but we are quite spontaneous with our stunts,” Liepert added. The group claims to be dormant at the moment, but who knows what they have in store for 2026?
