By: Jessica Nichols

Most high school students would never dream of being out of their warm beds before 5:30 a.m. on a weekday morning, getting ready for another school day. Teenagers walk into school, groggy-eyed and tired on a regular basis. But Friday, Sept. 10, students began to enter the big gym to celebrate the school’s newest achievement at 4:30 a.m.

“The whole guard spent the night at our house so everyone could carpool,” Color Guard senior Ramsey Verhulst said.

Pulling into the student parking lot, one could see the KCTV5 news van, satellite extended in order to clearly pass the footage from the school to the newsroom. A short time after 5:00 a.m., reporter Amber Jenne introduced the student body as the first Cool School of the year. Nominated by alumni and students, the Wendy’s sponsored award is given to a school for its non-athletic related activities.

Nestled among the breaking news stories, traffic, sports, and weather school activities were showcased on the television network. Orchestra took the “stage”, performing first.

“It was kind of intense,” orchestra member senior Hannah Horowitz said. “Some people got nervous. I think overall it was a good first concert experience.”

The Pommies, band, Oak Street Singers, Color Guard and other non-sports related activities received airtime as well.

“It’s really no different than any other performance we do,” Oak Street Singer junior Will Bolin said. “It’s just another audience member. The camera, I mean.”

Performing in front of the camera brought a bought of nervousness for some of the students.

 “It was exciting and kind of frightening at the same time,” band member freshman Adam Rosenbloom said.

Students filled three parts of the open bleachers and a few sat in the fourth section. They cheered and chanted for the camera as it moved from one side of the crowd to the other.  A wave started during one news tease. Most of the students who stood in the stands could have been getting a few more minutes of sleep, but they supported their school instead.

“I wanted to show my school spirit,” junior Lanisha Caldwell said.

Tired eyes tried not to drift to sleep in class, crashing from their early morning energy. After almost ten hours spent at the school, students headed to their buses and cars, ready to catch up on the sleep they missed, but remembering the excitement of the morning.

“It was really fun and I think it was a  really good thing for Oak Park to be introduced to the public,“ junior Leah Frisby said.