Why is it always spirit week?

The finish line of her daughter’s fourth grade school year was finally on the horizon when a flier from the elementary school appeared in Kiran Malancharuvil’s inbox. SPIRIT WEEK, it declared in colorful all-caps. Again? Malancharuvil thought. Are you kidding me? It was a Friday afternoon, in the home stretch of a demanding academic year, and now she had to prepare her child for another round of themed-outfit days (featuring “Hawaiian Day,” “Red, White and Blue Day,” and “Celebrity Day”) less than a month after they’d finished the last spirit week.