School spirit is emotional support for one's educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from grade schools to universities. It can be manifested in the exhibition of school colors

School colors

School colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. Most schools have two colors, which are usually chosen to avoid conflicts with other schools with which the school competes in sports and other activities...

 in dress and decoration, attendance of athletic events, or verbally in the form of chants or cheers.

Educators in primary and secondary education often associate proper behavior with school spirit, especially in the context of situations when students are outside the school itself. Because student behavior reflects on the school, representing it well shows a degree of student investment in their institution's good name. This definition of school spirit is closely associated with good sportsmanship

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...

 among students and their families at sporting events and is loosely based upon encouraging each other.

Pep rallies

In the United States, an event closely associated with school spirit called a pep rally

Pep rally

Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...

 is held during or after school hours. Seasonal sports teams are usually recognized. These are held generally before a varsity-level sports game. Other participants are JROTC, Cheerleaders and marching band

Marching band

Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

 or pep band

Pep band

A pep band is an ensemble of instrumentalists who play at functions or events with the purpose of entertaining and "pepping" up a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a marching band or a concert band. Pep bands are generally associated with...

.

External links

Article from About.com