A start of a new tradition, where all students are welcome, Panther Palooza celebrates the start of our school year. Panther Palooza ranged from our athletic teams signing balls for kids to fun on the bouncy houses. Lynn Jacomen (F) takes inspiration from other high schools to bring Lenoir City something truly unforgettable.
“Central High School also does something similar; they do a Bobcat Bash, where all the schools kind of come together for a movie night. We just compete with a lot of churches and things, and stuff for little kids, so we may not have as many little kids come,” Jacomen said.
Jacomen took inspiration from other high schools and introduced something special. Jacomen wanted to extend that environment to where everyone from our community is welcome.
“The inspiration was to do some type of back to school activity, mainly to get all the athletes to come together and invite the community to come out and meet the athletes. Obviously, [the] first year of something is not going to always be the success you wanted it to be. So we’re already trying to brainstorm some ways to make it better for next year.”
Our principals are still hard at work trying to make Panther Palooza even bigger and better for the next school year. School spirit means a lot to Jacomen; it is something she hopes to build through her time as principal.
“I think it would be nice, especially since we are trying to work on school spirit. Now that [Loudon County] is building a new high school, so just trying to have some things here that people feel connected to and that it brings them to and they’re proud to be here. I think having something at the beginning of the year where people are just coming back, maybe people who have graduated, are touched to feel traditions as well, and just really build our panther pride,” Jacomen said.
Jacomen hopes to build traditions that people will feel attached to, and it starts with Panther Palooza. Although it may change throughout the years, it is a great start to kick off the school year. Jacomen hopes to start events where everyone is welcome. Building panther pride means a lot, not only to Jacomen but as a whole community. Building traditions from freshmen to seniors, even people who have already graduated, creates sentimental attachments to our school and its spirit.
