Homecoming Week Returns

By Sophia Xiao

Homecoming swept through the halls, filling the school with festivities from Oct. 1 to Oct. 5. Each class chose an animated film as their theme: seniors chose Mulan; juniors, Fairly Oddparents; sophomores, Coco; the freshmen, Moana. This year, Powderpuff culminated in a surprising upset, while the Piedmont Hills Pirates beat the Live Oak Acorns at the Homecoming Game 48-41. After an eventful rally, the seniors were crowned the winners with a score of 624, followed by the juniors with 570 points, then the sophomores with 557 points, then the freshmen with 304 points.

Unlike previous years, the rally was not mandatory, and students could opt out to go the library instead. Those who attended were rewarded with Concert Choir’s performance of the National Anthem, several class skits and Male Cheer’s energetic debut, a routine choreographed by cheerleader Isabella Place.

“The seniors were kind of down in the slumps after Powderpuff and everything, but we came back, brought the energy back up, and that was all worth (the practices),” said Male Cheer member Eric Chau. According to him, Male Cheer practiced two to three hours a day, three days a week, for two months.

After the Class of ‘16 fiasco in which Male Cheer members were banned from Senior Picnic for inappropriate choreography, administration made sure to preview and approve of the routine a week before.

In Powderpuff, both the sophomores and the freshmen beat the seniors, leaving the way for juniors to win the Powderpuff finals.

“For the past two years, our coaches were never really on top of their game. This year, we made them go to practices, and the day right before our championship we had a practice, and we practiced offense and defense,” said 2020 Class President Britney Nguyen.

The third place match between the freshmen and the seniors came down to a throw-off which the seniors lost.

“I was mad in the moment but we still won (Homecoming) in the end, so I got over it,” shrugged 2019 Class President and Powderpuff player Jane Tran.

For the Homecoming Dance, the L-Building was filled with funky lights and palm trees, in accordance with the theme “Paradise Palms.” According to 2019 Treasurer Chloe Nguyen, the dance was hugely successful, almost selling out with about 500 attendees.

“I think (the popularity was due to) the theme and more because of publicizing! The other (executives) and I had our whole ASB publicize the dance to try and get the news out to every single person at school,” said Chloe.

The murals this year did not span the main hall; instead the seniors and sophomores shared the Senior Hall, and juniors and freshmen shared the Junior Hall. Even with a smaller area to cover, painting so many detailed murals took a lot of time.

“We painted all summer. I think we had maybe one week of break after school ended, and then we started painting,” said Jane.

All the work paid off, with the seniors taking first place in all categories but Powderpuff. Meanwhile, juniors’ and sophomores’ hallway decorations tied for second.

New this year, ASB held a contest for the best or most creative Homecoming Dance proposal called HOCOPRO. The first and second place winners, Jeremiah Porda and Niveah Gonzalez received free Homecoming Dance tickets, and the third place winner Stacey Thai received a discount.

After Homecoming Week wrapped up, Class of 2019 focused their attention on selling senior hoodies and prom tickets and planning for Male Pageant and FANTASTICS. According to Britney, Class of 2020 plans to continue fundraising for Junior Prom which they hope will take place at a venue. ◆