Creating a successful homecoming each fall involves intricate planning and collaboration, from a dynamic team of students and faculty that often goes unnoticed. This annual celebration is not just a “Film Festival” party; it’s a chance to ignite school spirit and unite all students in a celebration of community and tradition.
At the heart of homecoming planning lies a dedicated committee. This includes faculty, parents, and the entirety of the student body all driven by a shared vision. The team starts by establishing a theme, which sets the tone for decorations, spirit week, and most importantly, homecoming night. This year’s theme invites creativity and sparks enthusiasm across campus.
Activities Director Celina Sosa says the planning process typically starts well before the school year begins. This initial meeting usually occurs in May, right after school ends, but this year presented challenges.
“At the end of the year, we already start talking about how we’re going to organize homecoming for the year going forward. Because of schedules being all over the place and our executive president was leaving, we had to meet before school started in August,” Sosa said.
Meetings amongst Sosa and the student body are held every advisory where they only have 15 minutes—most days—to plan. Many theme ideas are thrown around, but it all comes down to what will be the most inclusive and something that will make students want to go all out.
“We start with four main themes and narrow it down from there. We try and pick a theme most accessible to all along with something that can work for each spirit week day and class skit,” Sosa said.
Deciding on a theme is a crucial part of the planning process. Sosa introduced the concept of a central theme last year after observing its effectiveness at her previous school.
“The theme sets the tone for everything,” Sosa said.
Sosa reveals that the homecoming pep rally is the most stressful part for her, while junior Isabella Herrera, a member of the student body, discusses her stress during the planning process.
“Being able to communicate with everyone in like your grade so that everyone will come into agreement with what we want and staying within budget are my biggest stresses. These factors must be taken into account to make sure this Homecoming is better than the last,” Herrera said.
Sosa and her team plan every detail and it’s timing down to the minute to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that the energy of the crowd remains high throughout the entire event.
“Besides the pep rally, I stress a lot about the games we play in it because it’s so hard to get people to volunteer. A lot of the time, students are also unfamiliar with the activities which tends to skip my mind,” Sosa said.
Setting up for the night of homecoming is one of the many enjoyable activities for students. However, the hard work that goes into arranging decorations, organizing events, and coordinating with volunteers often goes unnoticed.
“The setup is done by the parents between the Friday and Saturday of homecoming week,” Sosa said.
Not to forget, each year brings improvements. This year, the focus was primarily on the music.
“Something different that we did this year was invite surprise student DJs which I think is really cool,” Sosa said.
The excitement surrounding this year’s events reflects a commitment to fostering school spirit and involvement.
“I am incredibly excited to see the student DJs that will be on set,” Simon Perry, president of the sophomore class, said. “I think it’s really special that we are going to have students being the focal point of homecoming, and I think it will bring more excitement and unity to the event.”
