1113 MBJH flash mob
Spartanettes Lee Knight, Katie Foy, Caroline Cross and Brantley Goodman prepare to strike their zombie poses before the pep rally.
On Oct. 3, students at MBJH expected a regular pep rally in support of the incredible season for the volleyball, cross country and seventh- and eighth-grade football teams. What they found when they entered the competition gym was something a little different.
Almost 100 students dressed in ragged black T-shirts were scattered in clumps across the gym floor and in the bleachers. They were motionless and silent as the classes took their places in the gym. As the last student took his seat, the student “zombies” suddenly came to life as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” began to play.
The theme for the October pep rally was the ’80s. The seventh graders dressed in their preppy best, the eighth graders were in full ’80s neon, and the ninth graders showed up as ’80s rockers. Despite the theme, no one guessed what was coming until the music filled the gym.
The seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade cheerleaders, the seventh-grade dance team, the Spartanettes and the drama club had been practicing and keeping their secret for a week. All six MBJH groups came together to create a flash mob, dancing and paying tribute to a classic ’80s moment.
Not to be left out, several of the male teachers burst into the gym just as the pep rally was ending and called the crowd to a halt. Coach Derek Jones, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, led a rally cry that sent the other teachers into their own dance, “Gangnam Style.”
Soon they were joined by a few ninth graders, including Sims Herron, Elan Anthony, Harrison Weaver and Swaim Davis. With the wave of a hand, half of the seventh-grade class jumped to their feet to create a flash mob of their own. The bar has been set high for the next MBJH pep rally scheduled to occur during basketball season.
