Events @ SPA Homecoming Week

15th: Class Color Day, Girls JV tennis vs. Cretin
16th: Twin Day, Girls JV tennis vs. Providence, Football MS vs. Providence
17th: Camo/hunting Day, Girls MS tennis vs. Breck
18th: Throwback Thursday, Football MS vs. Breck
19th: Blue and Gold Day, Football homecoming vs. Minnehaha and Coaches vs. Cancer
20th: Homecoming dance, Soccer Saturday: Boys vs. Roosevelt, Girls vs. St. Croix Lutheran

Homecoming week brings a surge of school spirit each year as students cheer for their Spartan teams, play ping pong, lip sync, dance, and dress up. This year, all of those traditions return to St. Paul Academy and Summit School, but with one new addition to the dress up day schedule: Camo Day.

So why Camo Day, of all things? “It makes sense with our theme. Our theme this year is hunting season because we’re playing the [Minnehaha Academy] Redhawks. So our theme will be like Duck Dynasty,” senior Student Activities Committee co-president Maddie Flom-Staab said.

Leading many of the week’s events is the Spartan mascot, also known as senior  Jackson Lea. In enhancing  the Duck Dynasty theme, “we’ll probably put a beard on him,” Flom-Staab said.

Also on the list of dress up days are Class Color Day, Twin Day, Blue and Gold Day, and Throwback Thursday. Throwback Thursday is new to this homecoming, though it was done two years ago during Wacky Winter Week.

“It’s open to interpretation; some people will probably end up in footie pajamas, some are planning to bring back their middle school skater looks,” junior SAC treasurer Lexi Bottern said.

“I haven’t really experienced homecoming. I’m looking forward to dressing up,” freshman Ashley Jallen said.

Middle schoolers at SPA celebrate homecoming week with the carnival and some upper schoolers miss those days.

“The bouncy house, the bouncy house, the bouncy house [is the best],” sophomore Sal Ciresi said.

Sophomore Kyle Ziemer agrees. “The bouncy house is actually the coolest,” he said.

The lip sync is another homecoming milestone and it is open to any and all performers, though many students believe it is only for seniors. There will be an announcement addressing that confusion during the fashion show on Monday of homecoming week.  “We want more involvement with the lip sync. It’s not just a senior boy and senior girl thing,” Bottern said.

Many students at SPA don’t participate in the lip sync or the other homecoming events.

“Homecoming is not the same when a school doesn’t have team spirit… very few people will stay all the way through the game, the stands are going to be very quiet. It won’t be as much fun as it could be,” junior Peter Baker said.

The football team doesn’t exactly have a history of homecoming victories. The team’s 26-12 win against West Lutheran High School last year was the first homecoming win of the decade, with the last one in 2004.

“I think homecoming is just an excuse for us to actually watch football,” sophomore Ewan Lang said. “It’s also the only time we do the Spartan beat.”

The football game is just one of many homecoming sporting events. The annual “Soccer Saturday” this year will have the Boys’ Varsity, Junior Varsity, and C teams facing off against Roosevelt High School, and the Girls’ Varsity and Junior Varsity teams against St. Croix Lutheran High School.

“I’m looking forward to the homecoming GVS [Girls’ Varsity Soccer] game,” freshman Belle Smith said, gesturing to the GVS team shirt she was wearing.

Homecoming week brings a wide variety of events for students. So, “Clap your hands, stomp your feet, let’s all do the Spartan beat!”