Excellent Excellence

The stage lights shine as contestants compete in wig snatching, trivia, blind karaoke, and more for their chance to earn free prom tickets. The Excellence Games, replacing the former Mr. JA competition, is hosted by the National Honors Society (NHS), and brings in two upperclassmen from each club to participate. 

“This was the second year that we have done the Excellence Games,” explained NHS club advisor Mrs. Thimsen. “The games themselves were super fun. I think the participants had a great time, and I also think the audience members had a good time.”

As a club, NHS is always striving to try something new for the students of JA to enjoy. Many participants stated that they had fun at the games and would do it again next year. 

“I think that [the Excellence  Games] are actually kind of a good substitute for Mr. JA, and I think it's good that we're trying something new,” shared NHS club president and senior Audra Shields. “It's pretty fun and allows both male and female participants to do it together.”

As comes with everything new, there will always be areas to improve. Some participants shared that they did not feel that the audience voting for some of the games was entirely fair. 

“The only thing that I think could have been done differently was the voting,” stated junior Trevor Nichols, who participated in the Games representing the Drama club. “It was nice that they tried to get audience participation, but I think the teachers should have voted because they have less bias.”

A recurring problem for JA is attendance at club-hosted events. Though the majority of NHS members filled many of the seats, they wished that there could have been more out-of-club audience members. 

“I'm actually considering not doing [the Excellence Games] next year,” revealed Mrs. Thimsen. “I think we may choose a different kind of community service project that might have more impact for the effort we put in, because the kids put a ton of effort into making the Excellence Games, and it really was well done. Unfortunately, they just don't seem to have an audience for it, and so I feel like our efforts could be better used elsewhere, and that way, we could still impact our community, but have a bigger impact.”

Even so, with all the effort that was put in, many saw the Games as a success. A huge hurdle for the club when preparing for this event was the fact that many club members, especially the ones in charge, were in Europe the week before the event was hosted.

“I actually think that it played out pretty well, especially since we were in Europe the week beforehand, and we didn't have a lot of prep time,” said Shields. “I think the audience had fun, which was the most important part, and I think that it was a lot of fun!”

With a lot of the club members on another continent, it was up to the rest of the members to finalize things and make sure that the Games would be a good event. 

“Everyone put a lot of effort in, and that was really helpful. I think that everyone cared, which is very nice, and I think everyone did a really good job in helping prepare, and on the weeks that we were gone, everyone really stepped up,” explained Shields. “I'm just really proud of my club for that.”

Many of the games were not as team-based as expected. Many enjoyed the event, but if it were to happen again, they would like to see that aspect improve. 

“I thought the Games were fun, I enjoyed watching and playing,” shared Nichols. “If I were to do them again next year, I hope that there is more of an emphasis on the costumes and partnership of the games.”

Overall, many people enjoyed the Excellence Games and are proud of how it went. Representing boys’ and girls’ soccer, seniors Evie Tran and Dylan Bahrenburg were able to win themselves free tickets to this year’s prom. 

“Congratulations to the winners!” Mrs. Thimsen exclaimed. “Soccer did great– Evie and Dylan, well done. It was a fun evening all the way around!”