Pride is September’s Pirate’s ROCK trait, and several seniors have been chosen to represent pride while simultaneously pledging to remain drug and alcohol free.
Seniors Avery Rench and Wes Chiddix are two of those seniors who are involved in multiple fall extracurriculars that they utilize to wear their pirate pride on their sleeves. Rench is involved in Pride and Traditions Band while also working at Platte City’s Starbucks, where she carries her school spirit throughout her everyday life.
“I think doing all that I can [in every] activity and doing the best I can at it I think will show other people that it is possible,” Rench said. “[Pride to me means] having a good attitude about everything that you’re in and being proud that you’re in it and just being happy that you are a part of something.”
Rench is also proud of the people she surrounds herself with, the ones that help her be a better person.
“I’m proud of all of my friends, they’re really great people,” Rench said. “[As a role model to younger kids] I’m just gonna keep holding up that pledge that we made and I’m gonna be as kind as possible to everyone,”
Chiddix, represents his pirate pride in school and through the community, as he has gone to Platte County since pre-school.
“I was actually involved in all three baseball, basketball, and football at one point, but now it’s just baseball and I loved every minute of it,” Chiddix said.
Throughout his high school career, Chiddix has shown what having Platte County pride and spirit means to him.
“I feel like Pride for Platte County is just showing up and doing the right thing,” Chiddix said. “I’m always repping Platte County [gear] because both of my parents work in the district.”
Showing up and representing Platte County is just one piece of the program. A big part of Pirates ROCK is that the students involved are given the opportunity to go as role models to the elementary and middle schools in the district. Rench recently got to make the trip over to Siegrist Elementary.
Pirates ROCK members give high fives to students walking in and then go speak to elementary students in the classrooms. For a lot of the elementary kids, this is their first year being a pirate. This means a lot to the younger students as they have the older teens to look up to as role models of positive character traits.
