It's homecoming week in Gregory. We will have dress-up games, activities, cheers, and all the things we associate with homecoming in Gregory. We are steeped in tradition in Gregory, and I decided to share some of that tradition with the students.

(I know there are many, many things I missed. It's nothing personal, it's just a very hard thing to reseach. If you are aware of a specific thing I missed, please add it in the comments.)

Cheer:
1 state championship
3x placed first in one of the dances
1 Spirit of Six award

Volleyball:
12x district champions
11x region champions

Wrestling
16 different individual state champs (many were multiple years)
3 went on to be NCAA champion, 2nd place, and 1st place
11x district champions
4x region champions

Basketball:
9x district champions
4x region champions

Track
7x placed in top ten in state
2x state champions

Golf
2x state champions

Oral interpretation
There is no way for me to track this, but the wise people I spoke with tell me the number of superiors Gorillas have received has to number in the thousands.

Music:
Similar to oral interpretation, there is no way to track this and the list would be too long if we wrote every marching, jazz, choir, and contest that we've won or received a superior for. But we are, have and been, known for our excellent music program for decades. We also have marched in the Rose Bowl Parade at least one time I could confirm.

Football:
5x state champions
9x state runner-ups
Before the modern state tournament, we had multiple undefeated teams. Opponents of those teams included Pierre, Mitchell, and Sioux Falls.

That's quite a list. And I missed many, many things.

I wanted to remind our students that they don't just represent themselves. Whenever they go out and do something for Gregory, they also represent all those who came before them. They represent their high standard, the work ethic of champions, and the mentality of never giving up. They are not part of a tradition of rolling over and taking defeat. They are not part of a tradition of excuses. They are a tradition of hard work and champions.

Their challenge for the week: Lean into the tradition of excellence that we have as Gorillas!

Every day is a great day to be a Gorilla!
Have a tradition-filled week!