In the 1950s and 1960s, cheer rallies were held in early June in preparation for the opening of the NCAA season. The cheer rallies were held in the high school covered courts and attended only by the high school students. After the flag ceremony on a Monday morning, classes were suspended for one period to hold the cheer rally which was led by the college cheerleaders. The high school student population was divided into eight groups. Each group was composed of a mixture of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students. Each group would yell the same cheer. There were eight pennants each with an image of different bird species attached to poles. The group that cheered the loudest got the pennant with the image of the eagle, and the group with the lowest noise volume was given the pennant with the image of the crow. Seldom used cheers were practised and the juniors and seniors basketball varsity teams were paraded on the stage. The team captain (King Eagle) of the seniors basketball team gave a short pep talk to the gathered students, promising the school to do their best to win the championship and asking the students to support the team by attending the games.