Spring is a thrilling time of the year filled with many events to keep Seattle Prep spirited. March Madness begins, Spring Break is around the corner, and the long-awaited tradition of a week full of competitive activities known as Olympic Week commences. The event is an exciting event time for both students and faculty as they will be able to represent their Collegio’s and faculty team in a wide variety of entertaining challenges. This glorious week has been a long-standing tradition at Seattle Prep. However, Olympic Week was not always around at Prep.   

The iconic tradition started back in 1988—more than thirty years ago. Josh Kallmer, a previous ASB president, most likely got the idea from a summer camp. He wanted to bring light and joy to the dark period around February, where the days got darker. Kallmer brought the idea up to the then-vice principal and head of ASB, Bryan Gummersall. With the help of ASB, Prep created its very own Olympic Week filled with competitions and events for every Panther to enjoy. 

“I was young enough, maybe stupid enough to say, ‘that’s great’,” Gummersall remarked.  

The next Dean of Students, Jim Sullivan, kept the tradition going. Sullivan thought the same things as Kallmer and Gummersall—that the time around February is dark without some event to lift everyone’s spirits. The idea behind the Olympic Week was purely to bring happiness and build the community at Seattle Prep, and they did just that.  

With the help of Megan Weed, Student Life Director, and Student Government Moderator, set out to create events and lively challenges for everyone to enjoy. This weeklong event continued to evolve over the years, with different members of faculty and students helping to make it what it is today. A former Collegio teacher, Assistant Principal, and Student Life Director, Kathy Tullis had a massive impact in that regard. Tullis assisted in creating challenges and creative ways for people to participate in the week other than just sports.  

At first, Olympic operated solely during free periods that the students possessed. The students would either come before or after school or during the window period to participate in their events. This soon became very challenging for many students and forced them to forgo Olympic week.   

However, as the tradition became a much bigger deal, Seattle Prep allowed students to use school hours. Bryan Gummersall stated, “The first couple years we went with one of those modified schedules, and after the third year they gave up some class time to help make everybody involved.”  

Fast forward to 2021, and Olympic Week is still a tradition that holds a special place in the heart of every student and faculty at Seattle Prep. This year will be a new challenge for the people working on Olympic week due to the hardships that come with COVID guidelines, but that is not stopping them from making it the best Olympic Week to date. Every year, many talented people help make Olympic Week what it is. Spearheaded by Mr. Stearns, ASB is the brains behind Olympic Week. They aim to continue standard competitions from the week while creating new events to enjoy each year.   

The buildup around Olympic Week has already begun, with Stearns stating, “Watch out! The faculty are going to win it all this year!”