You had me at Homecoming. Homecoming has been an ongoing tradition taking place somewhere in the months of September or October to honor the new school year since the 1920s and 1930s. This year, Homecoming at Glenbard South featured exciting new additions. From the boba truck to the dance ring, sponsors Dr. Chaloka and Mrs. Duffy, along with Student Council (STUCO) and the administration team put in a lot of work to make this night possible.
No Homecoming dance is complete without a theme. This year’s theme was brainstormed by last year’s Student Council executive board, but brought to life as “Cities Never Sleep” by this year’s student council. From there, different cities to base decorations around were assigned to each class. Freshmen took Miami, sophomores had Los Angeles, juniors chose Paris and seniors had New York.
One of the most beloved Homecoming traditions is the flurry of spirit days leading up to the dance. This year, Monday’s theme was class colors, meaning Freshman wore blue, sophomores wore red, juniors wore white, seniors wore black and staff wore gray. Tuesday’s theme was Mochas and Music. You could bring anything but a cup and/or wear your favorite band, artist, or concert. Wednesday had students dressed up as country western or country club. Thursday was Rhyme without Reason and students paired up to dress up as things that rhyme with no other affiliation. As always, Friday was Raider spirit wear. Throughout the week, there were multiple evening activities sprinkled in. Monday entailed Games Night where each class went head to head in yard games on the football field including tug of war, a hula hoop contest, limbo and other fun games. On Tuesday during PLC, STUCO invited students to help decorate hallways. Wednesday was the evening Pep Rally to honor South’s fall sports. Last up, Friday was the Homecoming football game, with a theme of neon for students.
To kick off the week, grades decorated their hallway in accordance to their theme. According to STUCO President Olivia Abbott and Vice President Olivia Cernauske, hallway decorating was a success this year with many people coming to help out, as well as them learning how to solidify the process on the back end.
Starting bright and early Saturday morning, Student Council members set up the snacks, decorations and seating for the dance. During the dance, there were many fun activities to help make the night special for all students. Cernauske stated, “I think Glenbard South does a really good job with Homecoming. You have the gym with dancing, but you still have other options like the boba truck outside, or the field house that has all the games, so there’s a lot for everyone to do and it caters to everyone.” As mentioned, this year’s new edition was a boba truck outside for students’ enjoyment. Abbott said, “I liked the boba truck, not just because of the boba, but because it opened up the outside area so you could actually leave the building and still be supervised. It was nice to get fresh air.” Mrs. Duffy and Dr. Chaloka were inspired by other schools who had food trucks at their dances. All students were given a seven dollar voucher for their own enjoyment. Dr. Chaloka shared her experience with the event overall with: “When I see students having fun and making memories with their friends, it really does make it all worth it.”
