story by Helen Wheatley and Elsa Feigenbaum, photos by Siobhan Miller and Jessie Culver

The air surrounding her is hot as she screams at the top of her lungs, squeezed tightly between her STA sisters. Her face feels cool beneath the thick black and white face paint, resembling the spots of a Dalmatian. The crowd is ecstatic. They cheer as the STA varsity basketball team fights for victory over their rivals.

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The long standing relationship between STA and Notre Dame de Sion High School has become a source of competition between the two all-girls schools. Strongly apparent through the schools’ motivation for excellence in sports and academics, this rivalry encouraged spirit and healthy competition at the annual basketball game Jan. 26. According to Sion sophomore Elsa Brundige, there have been very few times where she’s “seen people take the [rivalry] too far.”
Like many years previously, the schools came ready for competition, dressed in elaborate themes. STA sported their 101 Dalmatian attire, complete with socks and pigtails for ears. Spirit Club president Elaine Kerr dressed as the movie’s villain, Cruella de Vil. Sion rivaled STA with a daycare theme, clad in onesies and binkies.
“Sion likes to make fun of STA because of how much free time you guys have… kind of calling you guys a daycare,” Brundige said. “I think we both like to have themes that make fun of each other.”
STA co-moderator of Spirit Club Anne Papineau says the idea for STA’s theme was simple.
“We wanted the whole school to feel like they could participate because we knew this was going to be such a big event… We wanted to make sure it was super easy for people to join in on the theme,” Papineau said.
The game ended with a victory for STA, adding basketball to the list of all but three sports that have defeated Sion in the past year, according to athletic director Mark Hough. Although the rivalry lives on, both schools maintain friendships. The STA girl in the crowd cheers on.