Schoolspirit week ideas can include school color days, classroomchallenges, creative projects and ahost of fun activitiesthat bring all of yourstudents together. Thetrick is to simply pick a theme that fits your student’sdemographic and allows them the opportunity to participatewithout needing to buyanything like a costumeor schoolmerch.

Andto make finding the best idea to use for your own spirit week, we’vecreated a curated list of thirty different ideas organizedby grade level along witha five day schedule youcan adapt to your ownneeds. In addition, we’ve also written a familycommunication template soyou’ll know just what to say to parents along with clearsteps for addingoptional fundraising events duringyour special week.

Asuccessful schoolspirit week consists of aseries of themed daily activities thathelp to build your student’s relationships with each other andgetting them to both feel and show pride for their school.

How to Choose School Spirit WeekThemes for Your Students

Whenchoosing your theme, remember to make sure that it’s something thatis easy for not only the students to do or get involved with, butalso easy on the parents and teachers that will be involved withplanning and runningthe event. It also helps to use ideas that don’t force familiesto buy items or clothing they don’t really need and can be donewith what’s already available. Here’s a quick table to help you:

Thesefour questions can help you narrow down if your idea will really workfor your students and are great questions to keep in mind wheneveryou’re planning a school spirit week.

1. Is the chosen event an easy enough concept for my students to instantly grasp?
2. Can my students participate using basic clothing or items already in their homes?
3. Will the theme cause any disruptions or problems when it comes to a normal school day’s lessons and routines?
4. Does the theme create any barriers that could possibly leave a student feel left out?

Andwhile these may seem simple enough, they’re a great guide to besure everyone can not only participate, but they can do so withpride.

Simple Elementary School SpiritWeek Ideas With Minimal Preparation

Whencreating events for elementary children, don’t over complicatethings and be sure that your theme is easy to explain and can be donewith ordinary clothing or materials supplied at school. And don’tassume all children like to dress up, they don’t. So always includesimple classroom options so everystudent gets the opportunity to join in and feel included.

1. School Colors Day

Studentcan wear school merchandise if they have it, and for those that don’tthey can wear a shirt that matches one of your school’s colors.

Participationoption: Teachers can print out a badge or the school mascot thatyour kids can color and pin to their shirts.

2. Pajama or Cozy Clothes Day

Kidscan wear their pajamas to school or some comfy sweats or whateverthey find comfortable.

Participationoption: If your students want to wear regular everyday clothing,let them opt for flip flops or a hat to participate.

3. Backwards Day

Kidsget to wear their normal clothes, just everything they’re wearingis worn backwards.

Participationoption: Give students a team hat or schoolsports gear they can wear backwards if they don’t feel likeparticipating.

4. Mix-and-Match Day

Studentsget to wear two entirely different patterns of clothing or differentsocks to show support.

Participationoption: Invite your students to rearrange the classroom for theday into a hectic pattern of desks and chairs.

5. Stuffed Animal Day

Kidsbring in their favorite stuffed toy or action figure to show theclass. You can even have each student tell the class why it’s theirfavorite during homeroom.

Participationoption: If a child doesn’t have a stuffed animal or an actionfigure, allow them to bring in something they feel is important tothem, like maybe a baseballcard of their favorite player, or a poster of their favorite popstar.

6. Classroom Mascot Day

Kidsdress up as their school’s mascot for the day.

Participationoption: Print out coloring pages of your school mascot for kidsto work on and hang in the classroom.

7. Community Helper Day

Studentcan dress up as their favorite community helper, a doctor,firefighter, construction worker, teacher or even the garbage man!

Participationoption: Give student’s enough time to write about theirfavorite community helper and present it to class when everyone isfinished.

8. Nature-Inspired Day

Wearthe colors of nature for the day or floral patterns inspired by treesand outdoorparks.

Participationoption: Autumn is a great time to bring your children outside sothey can all find the ‘perfect leaf’ to share with the class.

MiddleSchool Spirit Week Ideas Students Can Help Design

Since middle school childrencan complete more complex tasks and get bored easily, give them theopportunity to explore their own creativeness and do things thatinspire them naturally. These ideas aren’t the normal oh hum onesyou frequently see, they’re real idea that student’s actuallyenjoy getting involved in.

9. AnythingBut a Backpack Day

Have your students bringtheir books and school supplies to class in anything except atraditional backpack. This can include anything like a laundrybasket, a cooler, a pillowcase, or a cleanrecycling bin, whatever they want!

Participation option:Provide paper signs or luggage tags at the front desk where studentscan write or draw their "dream transport vessel" to tape totheir regular backpack.

10. Meme & Internet CultureDay

Allow your students to dressup as a school appropriate viral meme, famous reaction imageor trending internet character for the day. You can even invite eachstudent to come up and speak about why they choose what they did forone minute before class.

Participation option:Provide printed blank meme templates in homeroom so students canwrite their own original memes which can then be posted on theschool’s memewall.

11. Teacher Student Switch Day

Get both teachers andstudents poking fun, teachers dress like their students, and thestudents dress like their teachers or principle. Think students incardigans and lanyards carrying a tote bag while staff wears hoodies,graphic tees and sneakers.

Participation option:Let students fill out a "Teacher Catchphrase Bingo" cardduring class and allow them to hang it outside the classroom. Eachtime the teacher says a catchphrase, the student can call bingo andmake a mark on their card.

12. Wacky hair day

Studentsget to do anything they want with their hair, think coming in withrollers, braided ribbons with school colors, or just spiked hairspray filled hair. The wackier the better. And with the socialsharing potential, kids can really get into this one.

Participation option:If someone doesn’t want to mess with their hair, they can come inwith a hat, from a cowboy one to a sports cap, even an aluminum foilone is allowed.

13. Music Fan Day

Studentsget to dress up like their favorite singers or in a certain musicaesthetic like grunge, pop, indie, country or even 80’s music.

Participation option:Supply paper vinyl record templates in class where your students cancreate a mustlisten to playlist to display on the school hallway’s walls.

14. Tropical Vacation vs.Blizzard Day

Pick a side and dress eitherfor a beach vacation (Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, sun hats) or afreezing snowstorm (puffer jackets, beanies, winter scarves).

Participation option:Hold a quick "Warm vs. Cold" interactive poll on theclassroom whiteboard or digitally where students vote on theirultimate weather preference.

15. Board Game Showdown Day

Host a school wide Trivialpursuit during homeroom to see who wins in each room. Then at lunchor during an assembly, let the homeroom winners compete for theultimate title.

Participation option:Use printed puzzle sheets like a sudoku, crosswords or word searchesin homeroom for students who prefer individual brain teasers.

16. Celebrity Impersonator / RedCarpet Day

Dress like a movie star,musician, athlete, or red-carpet icon attending an awardsceremony. You can have the principle ‘announce’ each studentas they walk into the halls!

Participation option:Set up a photo booth frame in the cafeteria with paper props likesunglasses, awards statuettes where students can pose during lunch intheir normal clothes.

High SchoolSpirit Week Ideas for Homecoming and Campus Events

High-school spirit weeks cancombine themed days with student leadership, school history, and ashared closing event. Homecoming pep rallies represent one common usecase, but themes should remain adaptable for any point in theacademiccalendar.

17. Twin Day

Students team up and wear theexact same outfits.

Participation option:Allow students that don’t want to wear matching clothes to match upwith someone wearing a hat, watch or sneakers that are the samerather than a full ensemble.

18. Tie-DyeDay

This would be really awesomeif you can get everyone to bring in a regular t-shirt and teach kidshow to tie dye their own shirts to wear the next day after they dry.Perfect for home economics or artclasses.

Participation option:For more creative students, let them paint or dye their shirts anyway they want.

19. HawaiianBeach Day

Even more fun in the wintermonths, kids dress up in Hawaiian shirts, beachwear and sunglassesfor the day while outside it’s snowing.

Participation option:Give your students thematerials they need to make a lei(garland) they can wear for the day showing support for those strongenough to wear shorts in the winter.

20. College,Career and Skilled Trades Day

Students dress up in clothesrepresenting what they want to be or which college they want toattend.

Participation option:Distribute printable careerpathways cards where students write down what interests ortrade skills they want to explore.

21. FlannelFriday / Lumberjack Day

Students dress up like lumberjacks for the day, great for inner city schools and mixing things up.

Participation option:If they don’t like the flannel idea, let them wear something thathas to do with outdoor enthusiasts, like biking gear or rock climbinggear.

22. StudentDesigned Spirit Wear Day

Similar to the tie dyedrecommendation above, students design their wearables any way theywant, adding bling, dying or simply painting their clothes in acreative way.

Participation option:Set up a gallery walk in the hallway showcasingeveryone’s artwork and graphics so students can see thecreativity right in front of them.

23. Dress toImpress Day

Students dress in formal wearfrom suits and tuxedos to gowns and high class dinner wear.

Participation option:If a student doesn’t want to dress up for the day, they can chooseto be counter couture in that they can wear super relaxed clothing orpajamas.

24.Monochrome Color Day

Students can do an all whiteor black day or even decide to wear colors assigned to each gradelevel in show of support.

Participation option:If someone doesn’t have the wardrobe to accommodate an entireoutfit in one color, they can choose to wear both colors, or all thecolors assigned to the grades.

SchoolSpirit Week Activities That Do Not Require Dressing Up

While dressing up duringspirit week can be fun for some, it doesn’t always go over big withall your students. So here are some ideas that have nothing to dowith dressing up, yet are still super simple to do and all have waysto include even the most disinterested of students.

25. SchoolTrivia Challenge

Hold a trivia contest thatcenters around school history, staff facts and campus lore.

Participation option: Givestudents the option to submit a funny or anonymous trivia questionabout school life or their teachers.

26.Collaborative School Mural

Provide a long piece ofbutcher paper or similar in one of the halls along with paints andbrushes. Each class or grade gets to paint a section thatdemonstrates what their school means to them.

Participation option:For students who don't want to draw or paint, askthem to simply write their favorite poem or even song lyric to thepainting, or even their own handprint.

27. SpringPicnic Day

Students can opt to bringtheir own food or bring out their normal cafeteria food for a nicelunch with everyone spread out in the grass. Prompt your students totake off their shoes and really enjoy the experience.

Participation option: Setup blankets for people tojust rest or read if they aren’t interested in a picnic.

28.Community service day

Reachout to your community and see what types of community programs aregoing on locally right now. Then list the programs and invitestudents to participate and document their experiences. Use theirdocumentation as a paper worth a grade so they get school credit fortheir service as well as the pride of helping others in their owncommunity.

Participation option:Allow students who cannotparticipate in off-campus events to usetheir fellow student’s research to find new or better opportunitiesto give back to their communities.

29. Seed day

Students bring seeds fromhome to plant at school, whether in a cup or in a designated portionof the school grounds to cultivate throughout the year. When it’stime to harvest, you can tie this with number 28 and bring theharvest to community food banks, or have your cafeteria staff cook upeverything for the student’s ownfood to table experience.

Participation option:Offerextra seeds, soil, and recyclable paper cups in class so students whodon't bring seeds from home can stillplant one in 30 seconds.

30. MovieDay

Host a special screening inyour school’s auditorium that shows how spirit drives people topush themselves and often succeed no matter what lie before them.Think movies like ‘Rudy’ or ‘A Million Miles Away’ that caninspire the entire school body.

Participation option:Provide a classroom discussion prompt or reflection card wherestudents write down one goal or challenge they want to tackle thisyear.

A Five-DaySchool Spirit Week Schedule You Can Adapt

Here’s a table that shows anormal progression over a school week and what activities you caninclude as a reference:

Obviouslythis is just a basic guide to give you ideas on how to run your ownschool spirit week. You’ll need to switch out the information andreplace it with the activities and ideas that best represent your ownschool’s students grade and abilities and the free time yourteachers and staff have to implement these ideas.

How to Plan An Awesome SchoolSpirit Week

Youwant to start planning your school spirit week at least three to fourweeks before. This gives you enough time to confirm your dates andtheme with educationofficials, decide everyone’s responsibilities and give yourstudent’s families enough time to be prepared.

Recommended Planning Timeline

• Three to four weeks before: Check your school’s calendar to see if there is any potential for conflicts like big exams or other events. Ask your student body for their own ideas and present them to the administration for approval.
• Two weeks before: Share the complete schedule including non-costume participation alternatives and any optional event details with families, teachers, and staff.
• One week before: Confirm your teachers have any classroom supplies they may need, assign volunteer roles if necessary, and begin putting out daily reminders to your student body.
• During the week: Keep putting out daily announcements and note any changes to your event.
• Afterward: Ask teachers and student leaders for feedback to use for future events and thank everyone involved.

Parent Message Template

Here’sa quick template you can use to let parents know about your event:

“Spirit Week runs [dates]. Ourdaily themes are [themes]. No purchase or donation is needed to join.Students may dress for the theme, use a classroom provided option orparticipate in regular clothes. Questions? Contact [name/channel].”

How to Make Spirit WeekAffordable and Inclusive

We’veincluded a ‘Participation option’ inour ideas above so everyone can be included without ever needing topurchase anything. This also includes letting students wear everydayclothing with options using school supplied materials so everyone canparticipate.

Hereare a few practical principles to keep in mind:

• Advance notice: Give families a list of your themes at least two weeks prior to the event so they have time to prepare and aren’t rushed.
• No costume competitions: Don’t offer any prizes for costumes as it creates pressure for students to compete and can end up costing parents who can’t otherwise afford the extra financial burden.
• Individual participation: Do not require students to find matching partners or groups for theme days.
• Focus on kindness and teamwork: Give recognition to students that participate and demonstrate positive spirit and helping others rather than dollars spent.
• Respect non-participation: Make sure that students who choose not to dress up or join specific activities don’t feel ostracized or scorned for their decisions.

How to Add Optional Fundraisingto School Spirit Week

Ifyou decide to fundraise during school spirit week, make sure you keepthe two events separate. You don’t want people to feel pressuredinto giving just to be part of the festivities.

Hereare three simple ideasto raise funds that don’t make people feel pressured:

1. Sponsor-supported giving campaign: Partner with local businesses to sponsor your week’s activities.
2. Spirit-wear preorders: Sell branded shirts or merchandise to students that are interested before the week begins. This gives your staff enough time to confirm costs, the number of units and what your profit will be.
3. Closing family night: Host an evening event such as a carnival or movie night where parents can opt to pay for a ticket or still go for free.

Ifyou want to collect donations, sell tickets to your night or evenhold an auction to raise funds, Paybee provides everything you needto support your school fundraising campaign and we even have atotally free option whereyour donors cover the cost of our service. You can try our free demohere to see how we can make your life easier when it comes to thelogistics of your event here.

Andif you want more information on schoolfundraising ideas or see our recommendations on thingsto sell for a school fundraiser, clickthe links to get some of the best ideas available.

How School Spirit Week CanInclude Community Partners

Lookingtowards your community for support is a smart way to mitigateexpenses and rally your community around schools spirit. Here aresome easy ways to do just that:

Youmay need to seek school board approval when usingoutside assistance to be sure there aren’t any conflicts ofinterest or misuse of school resources, so check before signing anycontracts.

Common Questions About SchoolSpirit Week

What is the difference between aspirit day and spirit week?

Aspirit day is a singlethemed day focused on a specific activity or school color, whilea spirit week consists of five consecutive themed days leading up toa final school event like a movie night or the weekend.

What are easy spirit week ideasthat require no shopping?

Schoolcolors day, favorite color day, mix-and-match day, and paper badgecraft challenges are just some of the many ways you can have yourstudents participate with nothing else to buy.

How far ahead should schoolsannounce spirit week?

Youshould give everyone involved at least two to three weeks noticeafter you’ve decided on your themes for the week.

Does spirit week have to includefundraising?

No.The entire idea behind spirit week is to create school pride and beinclusive of all your students, not to raisefunding for a specific school project.

Organize Your School FundraisingEvent With PayBee

Addinga family fundraiser or auction to spirit week? Booka PayBee demo to see how donations, ticketing, guest managementand touch and go checkoutcan make everyone’slives a whole lot easier! Youcan also learn more about howPayBee helps create successful school fundraisers soyou are sure to have a successful event with the least amount ofheadaches.