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94 Examples of School Traditions

John Spacey, updated on April 14, 2024

School traditions are elements of school culture that endure over time. These include official customs, practices, programs, events and clubs that are administered or sanctioned by schools. School traditions can also include elements of student culture that emerge independently of the school administration. Traditions may give a school a unique character and provide students with shared experiences and a sense of school pride and identity. The following are illustrative examples of school traditions.

Academic awards	Art exhibits
Arts festivals	Athletic awards
Battle of the bands	Battle of the classes
Camping trips	Career fairs
Charity fundraisers & food drives	Cheerleading
Chess club	Christmas pageant
Class colors day	Class motto
Class president	Class reunions
Class rings	Class trips
Commencement speeches	Community service events
Dances	Debate team
Dormitory wars	Drama productions
Dress-up days	Enrichment activities & school clubs
Fall festivals & harvest festivals	Field days
Freshman initiation	Freshman orientation
Freshman run	Fundraisers
Graduation cap toss	Graduation ceremony
Graduation gowns	Halloween parade
Homecoming	Homecoming dance
Homecoming game	Homestay and host family program
Honor codes	Honor cords
Honor roll	Honor societies
International exchange programs	Marching band
Morning announcements	Multicultural day
Musical performances	Open house
Outdoor adventure outings	Outdoor education
Parent teacher association	Parent-teacher conferences
Pep rallies	Perfect attendance award
Playground games	Principal's list
Prom	Reading buddies
School band	School creed
School gardens	School houses
School mascot	School newspaper
School pictures	School plays
Science fair	Senior pranks
Senior skip day	Senior sunrise
Senior superlatives	Service day
Show and tell	Spelling bee
Spirit wear	Spirit week
Sports days	Sports teams and events
Student ambassador program	Student council
Student exchange programs	Student government
Study abroad program	Talent show
Teacher exchange program	Theater productions
Valedictorian speech	Valentine's Day cards
Volunteer day	Winter formal
Yearbook club & yearbooks	Yearbook signing

Anything that is a legal requirement or part of the core academic program of a school isn't considered a tradition. Tradition is culture such that it revolves around the norms, expectations and celebratory side of school life.

Overview

School traditions are practices, customs and events that are sustained over time. These include daily practices, annual events and traditions related to extracurricular activities.

94 Examples of School Traditions

Overview

Summary

School Culture

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