Coming home
The original purpose of Homecoming was to bring back alumni in order to honor them and the legacy they left in their wake, and to celebrate the mark they made during their time in school.
The tradition began early in the 1900s at colleges and universities, and the first homecoming event was held at the University of Missouri in 1910.
The idea caught on very quickly and spread throughout the country at post-secondary schools.
A decade later, high schools adopted the tradition as well, and today, the purpose of Homecoming has shifted to celebrating school spirit and making new memories for those students who are currently in high school.
No longer is Homecoming limited to a one-day celebration which focuses on the outcome of a football game. It has become a week-long celebration of all the fall sports, and students at the high school, middle school, and even the elementary school take part in fun activities to build school spirit.
Here at Newcastle High School, the week begins on Sunday with each class gathering to decorate their hallway in the theme of the year. This year, that theme is Spiderman, so when one enters the high school, one will find spiders, spider webs, balloons, streamers, twinkle lights, and handmade signs encouraging the Dogies to beat the Broncs at the end of the week.
Throughout the week, classes, teams and activities will gather in the evenings to complete their float for the Homecoming parade on Thursday.
Monday afternoon, coronation was held where Queen Hailey Beastrom and King Caden Esposito were crowned, and they will reign over their court for the remainder of the week.
Fun activities happened on Monday and Tuesday evenings as the seniors played the juniors in the Powderpuff Football game on Monday and the Powderpuff Volleyball game on Tuesday. In these games, the genders get to try out each other’s sports as the girls play football and the boys play volleyball.
It is no surprise that the seniors won in both contests, because the reality is that the games are rigged, with officials accepting bribes in order to ensure a senior victory. Although both grades know what the outcome of the contests will be, they all have a great time and the juniors know that next year, they will come out on top.
Thursday afternoon, the parade will take place, then volleyball will host the Lady Bearcats of Douglas in the evening. Also, the Dogie Cross Country team will compete at their conference meet in Rawlins that day.
On Friday, volleyball is back on the court for their Homecoming match-up against the Lady Broncs of Burns, and the week will culminate with the football game against Burns on Saturday afternoon and the Homecoming dance on Saturday night.
Throughout the week, each school has dress-up days
that fit whatever the theme of each school is, so for the
high school that means
superheroes.
Homecoming is a great tradition that students, teachers and alumni look forward to each year, and it’s one that I am glad began more than a century ago. It’s a busy week, which results in a certain level of exhaustion when it’s over, but it’s totally worth it.