American School Spirit Awards

The countdown to the 2012 American School Spirit Award winner is over!  And we are excited to announce our grand prize winner and recognize two other outstanding teams!

The 2012 American School Spirit Award winner is................MAINE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL from PARK RIDGE, IL. 

School: Maine South High School – Park Ridge, IL
Team Name: Maine South Hawkettes
Coach: Jackie Graney
Team GPA: 3.7
Mission Statement: We strive to be outstanding role models through our effort as scholars and involvement with our community. We believe it is important to express our passion and dedication for what we do, day in and day out. In any place at any time, we will be leaders for not only our fellow teammates, but for our fans, competitors and community. We will better the lives of others through what we do and how we behave. We will leave no one behind. We are Maine South.

The Maine South Hawkettes submitted an extraordinary amount of material with their American School Spirit Award Application. Here are a few highlights and reasons why they were chosen as the recipient of the 2012 American School Spirit Award.

Community Service

The Maine South Hawkettes have gone above and beyond over the past season to help their community. The team personally packed over 13,000 meals for the “Feed My Starving Children” organization.

The Hawkettes devoted a significant amount of time through various projects that help children afflicted with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The team participated in the “Walk and Roll” event this year that raises money to help fight SMA. Also, annually the Hawkettes donated three full days of their time and babysat children afflicted with SMA while their parents attend the annual SMA conference. This project continues to be a life changing experience for the Hawkettes as they realize that they may not see the same child again next year due to their affliction.

The team also performs at the 911 Hopefest in remembrance of those who died in the 911 terrorist attacks. The team also volunteered at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s FAM JAM in Park Ridge. They helped facilitate a 50/50 raffle that generated close to $1,000 in just one night.

The Marillac House in Chicago offers services to families, children and teens who may need help. Here is a quote from Deanna Hallagan with the Marillac House:

Christmas and Valentine’s Day at the Marillac House would not be complete without the Maine South Hawkettes coming out to entertain and dance with our kids. They are the rock stars here at Marillac; the kids actually refer to them as the Rockettes. Over the past five years they have brought a lot of joy to our holidays. The Hawkettes have helped us with our Christmas Matching Families project for our teen mom program. The girls and their families have been extremely generous with our young moms and their babies, and helped make Christmas special for them.

School Spirit

The Hawkettes dedicate a ton of time to supporting their school and spreading spirit. They dance with the band at football games and basketball games. And they also participate in a special “Band-o-rama” show with the band each year. This night celebrates all of the special achievements in from fine arts students. They also work hand in hand with the cheerleaders on the sidelines at games. The team helps organize and also participates in multiple homecoming festivities including the homecoming parade. To help bring awareness to the student body of Maine South, the Hawkettes perform a special routine in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Other Fun Facts:

- There are over 1,500 Maine South Hawkette Alumni!

- In addition to all of their community service and school spirit activities, the team is also very competitive. They have won multiple state championships and also compete at UDA Nationals and have consistently placed in the top 10.

- The Maine South Hawkettes were the first team from Illinois to win a UDA National Championship!

- The Hawkettes have over 14 “Students of the Month” on their team. All dancers are involved in other school clubs and activities. Many dancers hold leadership positions throughout the school, and multiple dancers are in honors and AP classes.

Congratulations again to the 2012 American School Spirit Award recipient, the Maine South High School Hawkettes!

1^st Runner Up

School: The Academy of the Holy Angels – Demarest, NJ
Team Name: AHA Dance Team
Coach: Jenny Sweet
Team GPA: 3.7

Outstanding Achievements: This year the AHA Dance Team embarked on a “Community Crusade for Kids,” recognizing the children that are most disadvantaged in their community. They supported four major causes. At the Office of Concern, they packed 230 grocery bags for needy families. They held a carwash and purchased a year’s worth of school supplies for the St. Francis of Assisi School in New Mexico. They also volunteered their time to help support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

The team promotes spirit at their school by participating in pep rallies, dancing at games, and helping out with open houses and orientations. Most notably, the team recently held a pledge auction and raised over $4,000.00. They contributed that money to help with the Hurricane Sandy clean-up efforts, knowing that this would help make an impact right in their own community.

2^nd Runner Up

School: Livermore High School – Livermore, CA
Team Name: LHS Dance Team
Coach: Marysia Gunderson
Team GPA: 3.3
Outstanding Achievements: The team participated in National School Spirit Day and donated a total of 54 hours of community service from September 3^rd-7^th alone. They also helped to get their school involved by working with their cheerleaders and organizing a flash mob. In addition to NSSD, the team volunteered at “Kids Against Hunger” and packed 1,200 meals. They also organized a canned food drive at their school and collected almost 1000 items. The team performs for multiple sports such as football, basketball, and wrestling. They also support the volleyball team and Cross Country team. The LHS dance team represents the school in the annual community holiday parade.