On Sunday, September 15, 2024, Dragon Stadium was filled with the shouts, cheers, and laughter of students participating in Rock Around the Clock.
Rock Around the Clock, or RATC, is a JHS homecoming tradition that takes place the Sunday before homecoming week. Students create teams of 12 people to compete in various minute-to-win-it style games. Each team is accompanied by a staff sponsor and dressed in a different t-shirt color. This year’s RATC featured 41 teams, with the top five highest-scoring ultimately being the teams sponsored by Grant Bousum, Stephen Frederick, Jennifer Jimenez, Addy Pender, and Destiny Willer. Mrs. Willer has been a RATC sponsor nine times, and shared insight on this year’s experience.
“[Our team] just wanted to beat everybody. They’re competitive, and they want to win. I think that was our strategy,” Willer said.
While Willer was unsure of her team’s placement, she knew that they had competed well.
“We did pretty good, I didn’t know how we finished, but it was fun to hear our name [announced as one of the top five],” Willer said.
Willer’s team was captained by Grace Anderson ‘25, who was also excited by the team’s outcome.
“I was really surprised that we were in the top five, but overall since my team was made up of mostly seniors, it felt great that we won. It did make me curious about what place we actually got though,” Anderson said.
RATC has been a JHS Homecoming tradition for over 25 years. Since its inception, the event has changed greatly. JHS Student Council advisor Rachel Jensen described past RATC traditions.
“It used to involve food. Like: cheese balls with pudding on your face, a pudding slide, you had to dig into big cans of fruit cocktail, tug-of-war over some kind of pudding; there was lots of pudding,” Jensen said.
Many of the games were centered around food, which posed challenges to Student Council during the organization and aftermath of the event.
“The amount of money we spent on food and can openers was ridiculous,” Jensen said, “It was a lot messier, and there was a lot more food waste.”
According to Jensen, food wasn’t the only item wasted.
“It was our products, too. Every year we’d have to rebuy things because everything was disgusting. If you started on the pudding slide, everything else you touched was gross!” Jensen said.
While the event is no longer centered around food, it remains a favorite tradition among students and staff alike.
“I really enjoy getting to spend more time with my friends. Beforehand we get together to cut our shirts, do our hair, etc. And overall most of the games are really funny so you spend most of the time laughing at each other,” Anderson said.
RATC is an opportunity for teammates and friends to grow closer as they compete in the laughter-inducing games. It also provides staff members the opportunity to build deeper relationships with their students.
“I get to know so many different types of kids. I’ve sponsored many different types of athletes, marching band, show choir kids, you name it, I’ve sponsored them. Getting to know different students and seeing them in a different way than in a classroom is kinda fun,” Willer said.
The success of RATC at JHS has inspired other Des Moines metro area schools to implement something similar. During their homecoming weeks, Ankeny High School puts on “Under the Lights”, and Ankeny Centennial has “On the Prowl”.
RATC is more than a homecoming activity. It’s a popular JHS tradition that grows interpersonal relationships between students and staff, and gives participants an opportunity to compete with and against their peers in a low-stakes yet high-energy environment.
According to JHS staff member Jenna Hansen, “RATC is my favorite homecoming activity. I think it is such a fun experience that allows so many students to participate. I am so glad staff members get the opportunity to be a part of it as well. It is the GREATEST school tradition.”
