“Did you remember to get your Bark Points?” This phrase has rung through the NNHS halls ever since the release of The Bark App, a software program for smartphones that awards points to students that check in at school events.

The Bark App was created by developer SuperFanU, Inc for the 2017-2018 school year. Tailored specifically to Naperville North attendees, The Bark App was released on Aug. 15, 2017, and formally announced to the student body at the annual rules assemblies held at the beginning of the year. Many NNHS events have already been covered on the app, drawing in a staggering 1700 application users, which include students, parents, alumni, and fans of Naperville North.

According to Jennifer Baumgartner, head of student activities and creative mind behind The Bark App, the purpose of the application is to raise student awareness of the school’s events, strengthening North’s school spirit.

“I’ve seen an increase in the awareness of what’s going on, and that’s really what my goal of this app was,” Baumgartner said.

The application awards points to participants for attending events. As points are accumulated, prizes like Popsockets and ear buds are given out at specific intervals. However, students can choose to trade their points in for spirit wear instead.

With the multitude of events uploaded to the application, there are many opportunities for participants to get points. The aforementioned prizes are an added incentive for students to earn points. However, prizes are not the sole source of motivation for The Bark App users to go to events.

According to sophomore Jerecho Agudelo, his attendance at events is not solely reliant upon The Bark App, though it’s rewarding elements have been an added benefit.

“The prizes are cool, but I don’t strive go to the events just so I can get my Popsocket,” Agudelo said.

Along with prizes, the application also contains a leaderboard, where students fight to reach the top spot for bragging rights. The presence of the leaderboard gives the app a competitive edge, keeping participants interested. According to NNHS junior Caroline Loftus, the competitive element of the application has driven her attendance at school events.

“I’m a really competitive person so I think of it as a competition and I am determined to win,” Loftus said.

Some of the first popular events for the app were the Aidees dance, the class assemblies, and homecoming week activities. Since then there have been a multitude of different events spanning from sports, to performing arts and school dances.

Baumgartner is very pleased to see how the application has impacted interest and awareness of NNHS gatherings.

“We are trying to have a good representation of every event,” Baumgartner said. “It’s fun to get cool things and be proud of your school.”