Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

Each year, the house executive decides on a theme and creates new lyrics for popular songs, lyrics that reflect the particular character of the house, which is often inspired by its mascot. Members of the executive then rehearse the songs in the house rooms, and eventually house members take to the grounds to practise the formations. What is lacking in props is made up for with bright house colours and inventive formations. Most important, however, is the sense of community that is reaffirmed on an afternoon that is full of goodwill and fun. On the day itself, the students in their houses parade onto the grounds with great gusto and avail themselves of seats on one of the hills on the property, creating a colourful mosaic. In the early days, the Head Girl, Boarder Captain and Games Captain would honour each house with a song created especially for it, but that role has been taken on by the School Captain and the prefects. What follows that introduction is one of the highlights of the event: Junior School students present their cheer, always to great roars of delight from the audience. The competition then begins. Members of the community are always grateful for the sheer pleasure of the event, and when that May day dawns bright, one can almost hear a collective sigh of relief that the gym will not have to contain all that Havergal spirit! “House Shout: Battle of the Houses” BTI , May 2005

House Shout

Anyone who has been in the school just before House Shout begins each year knows the floors begin to shake as students in their houses pump up school spirit for “the big event,” one that now has a history of more than 50 years. The first House Shout took place in fall 1966. It was added to the annual Sports Day because students wanted another project for houses to work on, in addition to the Bazaar. Students were tasked with creating a series of cheers that would be matched with formations on the field that presented the initials of the house. The winning house, it was decided, would win the House Cup. Eventually, Sports Day itself was superseded by House Shout. However, in an effort to balance the number of activities held over the course of the school year (particularly given the increased scale of Celebration Saturday), the event was moved to the second Monday of May. Over the years, the rules evolved. Initially, the Spring 2015 Torch tells us, the only House Shout rule was that each House could cheer for no longer than two minutes ... As House Shout became an event on its own, it became increasingly important, and students became much more imaginative in the props they used during their cheers, including a school bus one year and a horse on another occasion. The unfair advantage of these items led to the development of the second rule of House Shout: no props could be used.

House Shout, 2017

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