On Saturday, September 10th, Wyoming Valley West High School hosted a carnival-like event called “Spartival.” Filled with games, food, and an endless amount of prizes, the Valley West students got to start their year with fun and entertainment. 

The event had games like Plinko, an inflatable bungee run, giant Connect 4, an Oculus with tons of games, and many more. The school’s Gamers Club also held an arcade section in the lobby of the school. Next to the arcade was called the “Spartan store” which sold Spartan merchandise.

With the tickets only being 50 cents, students were able to have the time of their lives for a fairly cheap price. Foods like pizza and popcorn were 50 cents too. 

One of the games at the Spartival was “inflatable bungee run” which was the biggest game there. In the game, you are attached to a bungee-like rope that can pull you back. The objective of the game is to attach a felt object to a velcro middle section. 

Another game was an Oculus, which is a VR gaming headset that allows the player to experience their current environment with virtual reality content. One of the games that the Oculus provided was “Beat Saber,” where you have a remote held by both hands and you have to swipe and hit the beat during a song. 

The Spartival lasted from 4pm to 7pm and was held in the cafeteria and gym of the school. Ryan Hettas, a chemistry teacher at the high school and the creator of the event, talked about how so many students and teachers helped assemble Spartival. “It was truly a community effort with the amount of teachers and students helping during the summer and during the event itself,” he said. 

He also talked about how the senior class officers, Jonathan Cardona, Jade McKenna, Chase Grffiths, and Murphy Pick, worked hard all summer to create this event.

 “I cannot stress enough how vital the senior class officers were in the creation of this amazing event. Their leadership and creativity are top tier,” said Hettas. 

With the Spartival turning out better than expected, he said that it’ll return again next year saying, “100% Yes. Spartival will return next school year.” 

Another great help to the Spartival was PBIS, who worked so hard to make this event. PBIS is the school’s positive behavior intervention support system. The Spartival was a reward to the students for great behavior throughout the first week of school. 

The students of the school had such a great time and experience at this event. Let’s hope they bring it back next year!