Entering the quad on the evening of Oct. 19, dozens of students saw the sparkling streamers that set the stage for the magical world of this year’s board game-themed Homecoming Dance.
The smell of Krispy Kreme donuts filled the air, mixed with the signature scent of fresh pizza. As the cotton candy machines stirred and the dance floor began to light up, the enchanting aura of one of SHS’s signature events took form.
Assistant principal and activities director Kristen Cunningham and the dance committee — consisting of seniors Adam Fox, Megha Horantur, Kinnera Potluri and Emily Rich, and junior Diya Ravi — started the planning for this event far in advance.
“A lot goes into [planning Homecoming],” Cunningham said. “The dance commission and I work together to purchase decorations through Amazon, and we use various rentals to bring the [activities] to the student center, like the Vogue photo experience, inflatable skee ball, whack-a-mole and more.”
Seniors Timothy Wei and Armon Vuppala compete in an intense “Alien Invasion” match.
While a lot of the planning for the decorations was similar to previous years, the dance committee mainly focused on boosting attendance.
Their efforts resulted in 363 students attending the dance, slightly less than last year’s turnout of just over 400.
Most of the attendees were freshmen and seniors, while sophomores and juniors made up only 36% of the event.
A successful addition to the event this year was a new teenage DJ.
“I always have had a list of DJs that we use over the years, but this year we were introduced to a new one by [senior ASB club commissioner] Anisa Taymuree, who met the DJ at a summer internship and said that we should check him out,” Cunningham said.
D-Flo is an aspiring musician and student at St. Ignatius in San Francisco. Students generally had a good impression of him, as he played music that they were all familiar with and loved.
Another success of the event were the relatively low prices for tickets. Cunningham explained that because Winter Formal and Prom generally have higher ticket prices of more than $100, she and the commission prefer to keep Homecoming tickets under $25 for affordability.
Freshman Zisu Chen serves cotton candy to a group of students.
Parents also pitched in to help with this event. Some organized the food and others did the coat check, helping students store their jackets and sweatshirts as the night went on, which was a task that Cunningham considered especially valuable and helpful to the event.
With planning from staff, students and parents, Homecoming still stood as an important and fun fallevent that capped more than a week of celebration.
“It’s always rewarding to see HOCO after working hard to plan it,” Rich said. “I think we can definitely improve the participation and the hype, but I’m always happy to see the end result.”
