Getting into the SPIRIT of Spirit Wear
If you were to ask me as a newbie Pre-K Mom over 6 years ago what I thought about Spirit Wear, you wouldn’t have gotten much of a reaction beyond “Is that the shirts and bows and stuff?” But over my time at North Hi Mount through some very different volunteer positions with the PTA, my amateur knowledge yet extreme love of design began pulling me further in that direction… showing me how rewarding and how fun it can be to get into the SPIRIT with our students, our teachers, our PTA and our families.
Each spring, Dr. Blanchard works with the staff to select a school theme for the next year that will be used on shirts, on presentations, on social media… everywhere! The teachers and staff usually get 2-3 options to choose between as they cast their votes. I have been fortunate enough to spend time with our principal and assistant principal over the past three years as we’ve brainstormed themes to present, showing logo and t-shirt examples to help them visualize what they want their year to look like and the moto they want to embody. It’s where we got One Tribe in 2018, Our Greatest Adventure in 2019, and Eagle Strong in 2020. All of those themes were voted on by our amazing teachers and staff members, with a first glimpse of their shirts given to them in August before school begins. We made the conscious decision three years ago to have the teacher’s shirts match the student shirts match the parent and family shirts. We all as “One Tribe” take on that year’s theme together. And the Student Champion shirts?? Same but in gold!
When the pandemic hit our community hard last year and we were unsure of what the PTA would look like in the fall of 2020, one thing we knew for sure is those Eager Eagles needed their NHM gear. Because whether they were virtual or in person, seeing a picture of your friend in your same shirt strengthens that bond. Having a new student join a school where they have literally never met a classmate or their teacher in person wear something that looks exactly like what the person on the other end of the screen is wearing helps them feel welcome. It shows they are a part of something, even if things might look a little different. And with our 2020-2021 School Theme set with EAGLE STRONG, we knew we had a powerful message to get across to our community. That together we could tackle anything, that we are resilient, that we are stronger than we ever knew… that we are EAGLE STRONG.
Spirit Wear has always been a fundraiser for our North Hi Mount PTA. What we realized back in 2018 is that it was time to switch to a all online, pre-order model. Each year we were getting stuck with more and more leftover inventory as it was impossible to predict sizes… and one year it put us at a break even for spirit wear. You read that correctly, we made zero dollars one year because of how much we had left over and the huge print runs we did. Yes, we sold over $8,000 in Spirit Wear that year, but we spent $8,000. Sure, we sold shirts and got the gear out to our community but we also had hours and hours of sales before and after school, hours spent at our carnival and events running the credit card machine and collecting cash… all for a $0 profit for our school. Lesson learned!
The key to a successful spirit wear store is a successful spirit wear company to help you manage it all. And we wouldn’t be where we were this year without Jimmy and our friends at Mulhollands, located right down the street near the Stockyards. Jimmy and his crew helped execute all of our crazy new designs, he found shirts in all shapes and colors and sizes for us from across the globe, launched the online store FOUR TIMES, and he made sure that every order is triple checked for accuracy before it goes out the door. We lucked out in the vendor department. And secondly, you have to have some amazing co-chairs and committee members willing to roll up their sleeves and help. Kaleena Fenno, a new Pre-K mom, jumped in mid year and wrangled the logistics process like a rockstar. Shaina Swindle and her husbands Advertising Agency, Evangalist, volunteered their design power to create some of our shirts in our second sale and our new NHM with the Eagle logo, and countless of other committee members stepped up to help distribute orders, promote the sale on social media, and anything we needed. It was the true definition of teamwork.
You may have noticed in 2020 we launched a TON of new products. I’m talking pink t-shirts, rainbows, rain jackets, masks, socks and everything in between. We even added a “Design a Spirit Shirt” prize to one of our Fall Scavenger Hunt Winners where we got to work with Kaitlyn Pinnell to design her amazing “Four Bright Houses” shirt. And if you noticed in our auction, we had the Student Shirt Design as an item up for bid and it went for $250! Stay tuned for that look in our fall 2021 sale. We can’t wait to see what new things we’ll come up with next year!!
This year we are projected to PROFIT over $4,000 between our four sales over the school year, and we are over the moon. This puts money right back in our school for programs and equipment for our kiddos. We are wrapping up our final sale right now until Thursday, May 13 at 11:59pm, so make sure you grab your LAST CALL shirts, your trucker hat for the summer, that larger house shirt size for next year, or an end of year gift for your favorite teacher. SHOP THE FINAL SALE. You can pay a flat shipping fee of $9 to have it sent to your house or pickup at/near North Hi Mount in late May for FREE.
Stay tuned as we announce the 2021-2022 theme over the next month! Shirts will be available to order in July with delivery/pickup in August before school begins. We’ll always have all 4 House Shirts for sale at cost (no profit for us) that the kids can wear on Mondays. Spirit Wear shirts can be worn on Fridays, both of those days you pair them with standard uniform bottoms.
We appreciate all of you for getting your SPIRIT ON with us during such a crazy year. We see you rockin’ those shirts, sporting those socks and looking great in your hats… and we love every minute of it.
Courtney Summers & Kaleena Fenno
Spirit Wear Co-Chairs
…and check out some of our fun styles from the past year below!
