October 12 to the Oct. 16 marked spirit week and homecoming weekend for Kingsway Regional High School, and they were thrilled to participate in all the fun events that the week had to offer.
Spirit week consisted of four different dress-up topics including pajama day, red, white, and blue, decades day, and ended with class colors on Friday.
“Out of all the days of spirit week, I am definitely most excited about decades day,” explained Sophia Counsellor, freshman. “I think it is really a chance to show our creativity, and it almost feels like making a character from the time period you chose and becoming them. It is easily one of the best ways to express yourself through clothing,” they went on to say.
While decades day was a top pick for some students, others had another favorite in mind. “Out of the four spirit weekdays, I think class colors are my favorite. As much as I love wearing pajamas, our senior class has been eager to be able to wear black on our pep rally day. Last year because of the pandemic, we didn’t get a pep rally, so I know the school spirit this year on class colors day will be outstanding,” expressed senior, Meghan Stevens.
Stevens, who is also a member of the homecoming court, went on to describe her excitement for the homecoming football game in the days leading up to the big night. “I love how hype everyone gets when it’s game day, and our student section will definitely bring that energy,” she explained. “This year, the game is a pink out in honor of breast cancer awareness, and I can’t wait to spend it one more time with some of my best friends, who also happen to be on the homecoming court”.
While the homecoming football game is a conspicuous rite of passage for high school students, in recent years homecoming proposals have become an increasingly popular tradition. The term homecoming proposal describes a special way to ask a date or a friend to the homecoming dance.
Most people ask others to homecoming with a sign that has some sort of pun on it; however, I have seen multiple different methods of this proposal. For example, someone got cupcakes and wrote “Hoco?” on them to ask.
Most of the time, the proposals make sure to somehow relate to the person being asked by using things like candy, sports, music, and more,” revealed Counsellor. “I have seen people asked at their soccer games, at a drive-in movie theater, and even just at home with a poster,” Stevens continued.
Another tradition that Kingsway students are excited to return to is Homecoming court. “When our school votes for homecoming court, they’re supposed to select 12 people who represent our school best. The top 6 girls and 6 guys with the most votes are then announced as the court. Then, another voting happens which decides a queen and a king, and they are announced at the homecoming game.
As members of the homecoming court, we get to be involved in the pep rally, the holiday parade, and the homecoming game,” explains Stevens.
Surprisingly, on the day of homecoming, students tend to favor the activities leading up to and following the dance, rather than the dance itself. Homecoming day is often marked by hair appointments, photos with friends, and after-parties upon leaving school. For many, it is truly a whole day affair.
As for the dance, the plan looks a little bit different this year in an effort to be cognizant of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The arrangement of locations includes both indoor and outdoor facilities to encourage social distancing, while also allowing for the opportunity for students to take off their masks while they are dancing in the tent outside.
By Audrey Pachuta
