Thundersticks, a commotion of cheers and excited students filled the gym for Lynbrook’s Welcome Back Rally — the first indoor rally in three years. The rally featured the cross country, girls water polo, girls tennis and girls golf teams. Varsity cheer, Breakdance Club and the Valkyries also performed routines to upbeat music. 

“The Welcome Back Rally was really nostalgic for the Class of 2023 because it was our first gym rally in the last three years,” senior and ASB Spirit commission head Esha Dasari said.

The classes also battled in rally games, including hula hoop toss and giant bubble wrestling, both of which were won by the seniors.

For another competition, each class sang lines from a song: seniors chanted the lyrics to “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift, juniors to “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, sophomores to “God’s Plan” by Drake and freshmen, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa.

“It’s really exciting to finally have a rally in the gym,” senior Shyon Ganguly said. “It is a Lynbrook tradition that we have missed for years and the anticipation and energy was definitely way up there today.”

Seniors dominated the scene with their overwhelming enthusiasm, though the event was high energy overall with all classes showing their school spirit. 

ASB Recognition presented awards to class members who worked hard at rally setup and to Chemistry teacher Lester Leung for his spirited attire all week. The rally concluded with a performance of the alma mater by senior Sravya Vakalanka, with students waving their phone flashlights to the music. 

“I know so many people from 2023 who were looking forward to going back to the gym and everyone in Spirit felt a little bit more pressure to make sure it was a good experience,” Dasari said. “I hope we exceeded people’s expectations and can’t wait for four more rallies this year.”

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