“And the pilot of the pit this week…” is a phrase that students hear every Friday when RPHS does live announcements. Students and staff hear this every week, but have we ever taken a second to really think about what it means? To help answer our questions, two students from our Leadership class, Austin Freed and Brook Buchan, decided to help us out.
Pilot of The Pit Board
Photo Taken by Grace Darke
What?
“Pilot of the Pit” is a phrase created by Reeths-Puffer High School’s Leadership class used to honor someone who is a great representation of Rocket Pride. Freed and Buchan felt Pilot of the Pit recipients demonstrate, “pride, respect, integrity, leadership, spirit, involvement, and dedication.” What does this look like on campus? This can look like anything from picking up garbage or helping out a student in need. These are just a few examples of what you can do to prove yourself as a candidate!
Former Pilot of the Pit: Drew Sweany
Photo taken by Owen Greiner
How?
How can you be chosen as a future Pilot of the Pit? Demonstrate our school’s core values, showing respect, pride, and integrity. Another way students can be selected is by showing school spirit, like dressing up for spirit week or regularly going to school events, such as an RPHS football game or our Spring Musical. The recipient of Pilot of the Pit is not arbitrary, Austin and Brook say, “We reflect on recent events to decide on a few people who we think deserve the recognition, then the group votes on it. We also get staff input for people that we may not know are all of the great things they are doing at the school.”
Former Pilot of The Pit: Rowan Bluhm
Photo Taken by Grace Darke
Why?
The inspiration behind Pilot of the Pit was “to make people feel recognized and actively show school spirit and leadership” said Austin and Brook. This is a great way to make students feel motivated, to show the Rocket Way! Students can now be excited about, “being spirited and actively shifting Reeths-Puffer culture.”
Although Pilot of the Pit is perceived as a fun little part of the live announcements at the end of the week, the Leadership class hopes it has a lasting impact on Rocket City to help bring the Reeths-Puffer community together and to build school pride and school spirit. Remember to show respect, pride, and integrity and maybe next time it could be you they announce as, “... this week’s Pilot of the Pit!”
Written By: Grace Darke and Alyssa Robinson