The first big event of the school year is getting closer. Homecoming week brings excitement to students and faculty through competitions, games, themed dress-up days, the pep fest, the soccer game, and more. The week is all about school spirit, and it ends with a lively school dance on Saturday night. The Student Activities Committee (SAC) has been working on planning homecoming since the end of last year. They have put together engaging community events for everyone to look forward to.

Themed dress-up days are a staple to homecoming week. Every day, there is a theme that students and faculty are encouraged to follow. In the past, there has been anything-but-a-backpack day, Adam Sandler day, and grade color day, to name a few. The themes for this year are still in the process of being decided.

Like previous years, the ping pong and dodgeball tournaments will be held throughout the week. Students and faculty crowd the gym during X-period to watch the matches. Students will form their teams and sign up with interest forms, which SAC will send out before homecoming week begins.

The talent show is another returning feature and crowd-pleaser. SAC co-presidents Wafa Naqvi and Kate Hanf reminisced about homecoming during the pre-COVID years. They noticed interest in bringing back the lip sync battle, which could be a part of the talent show and a throwback for some seniors.

Finally, the dance marks the end of homecoming week on Oct. 7. SAC has decided that the theme is glow-in-the-dark, and students are encouraged to dress on theme for the dance if they would like. Over the summer, SAC worked on designing the glow-in-the-dark homecoming t-shirts to match the theme. Flyers with QR codes to buy the shirts are posted around the school.

The SAC co-presidents have noted areas of improvement that they plan on prioritizing for homecoming this year. Their main focuses are getting information to everyone, ensuring students know what events are happening, and getting more students in all grades involved.

“We’re thinking of making some changes [to the captain’s challenge] because in past years, like, it’s just one captain from each [sports] team, and it’s always a senior, and […] we got some feedback that they wanted more people involved in it,” Naqvi said.

Naqvi also encouraged people not to be afraid of participating in school-wide events: “I think a lot of times people get scared [and] they think no one else is going to do anything, so then they don’t do it. So we have very low participation. […] Be really active in the community because the only way it can be fun is if more people do it.”

“Participate as much as you can. Dress up, show out. Come to the activities. Be at the homecoming games,” said Hanf.

Many things are still being decided, such as who the Spartan mascots will be, the themes for each day, and what the dance will look like. As homecoming week draws closer and SAC continues planning for it, watch out for homecoming posters and more announcements coming soon.