By Kiana Caranto

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Students and faculty alike have been working hard to make homecoming week, which will be held from Sept. 23 to 27, more memorable than previous years, letting it serve as a creative outlet for the student body.

“Homecoming is probably the biggest uniting activity that happens school-wide throughout the whole entire year,” said Senior Class adviser Carina Morgan, “It also encompasses our sport athletic teams and the spirit that goes along with them into this whole, school-wide function activity that we do together.”

The year’s theme is Disney-based and the culminating event will be held on the Friday of spirit week during halftime of the homecoming game, during which the classes will present their banner, the courts will be presented and the spirit trophy will be awarded. This will be held on the same day as the parade, with the homecoming dance to follow the next day.

Activities like lip sync, banner building and spirit week give students a chance to participate in various school-related functions and to show school spirit. “I think it gives the students creative outlets to do something funky, dress weird for a day, to be a part of something, to feel like they’re contributing to a greater cause,” expressed Assistant Student Activities Coordinator Danielle Castro.

Homecoming week also gives the different classes an opportunity to come together and work toward a common goal. “I think that sort of bonding, that sort of coming together beyond academic purposes is really good because it gives them a little more of a reason or something to celebrate about the school,” said Castro.

The different aspects of homecoming wouldn’t have been possible without the collaborative planning done by the faculty and the councils. “Seeing this year’s ASMHS group really work together, it’s stuff that nobody else sees on the outside,” stated Student Activities Coordinator Janet Ward-Riehle, “The whole council is really behind making the event big.”

Preparation has been going on since the summer, requiring the councils to come up with themes, coordinate with vendors and work with various MHS organizations, such as Marching Band and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, to make homecoming successful. “It is really stressful. Some days I just want to quit and just forget about it,” expressed Homecoming Chair Junior Austin Ajimura, “(But) when you take a step back and look at everything that you’ve done and how much fun everyone had and how much spirit that’s been put out, it’ll be worth all of the hard work.”

Homecoming week not only gives the student body new opportunities, it also supplies the councils with skills they wouldn’t be able to acquire otherwise. “It’s been amazing to see how they’ve grown and developed in terms of their leadership skills, their ability to collaborate and produce successful events and activities for other people,” said Morgan. This year, the councils were focused on creating something that the entire school would enjoy.  “It just really opened my eyes and showed me that there’s so much more to planning than what you want,” stated Ajimura.

Apart from serving the student body, the purpose of homecoming is to give alumni a chance to return to their alma mater. “Homecoming in essence is an opportunity for the alumni to come back and for people to come back, give back, reflect on where the school has been and where the school is going,” said Castro, “Especially since we do have a lot of alumni in the community and a lot of alumni faculty, I think it’s very important.”

The class councils and advisers still have work to do in order to accomplish their goals and are excited to see the finished product. The homecoming halftime show and game will be broadcast on OC16 on Sept. 27.