Last week was Homecoming at Elmira High School, and even though we weren’t able to have a dance or a parade, we were still able to participate in other Homecoming activities, such as Spirit Week, the Homecoming game, Homecoming royalty and the lighting of the Elmira “E.”
Students dressed up each day to show their school spirit. On Monday, they grabbed their dad’s Hawaiian overshirt for Tourist Day, and put on their best cowboy hat for Tuesday’s Western Day.
Wednesday was Class Colors Day: blue for ninth-graders, red for sophomores, white for juniors and black for seniors.
On Thursday, students dressed up for Character Day. To wrap up Spirit Week, the student body and staff wore purple and gold to show support for the Elmira Falcons and their game that night.
Juniors and seniors were neck and neck in a race for first place in the Spirit Week contest, but at the end, the seniors showed more spirit with 135 points and won. The juniors fell to second with 120 points. The ninth-graders placed third with 65 points, and the sophomores had 55 points in fourth place.
An addition to dress-up week was the class hall decoration contest. This year’s theme was “Decades.” The ninth-grade hall represented the 1960s, the sophomore hall the ’70s, the junior hall the ’80s and the senior hall the ’90s. The winners for hall decorations were the juniors.
The Elmira Falcons faced off against the Santiam Eagles for Friday night’s Homecoming football game. The lines to get in and for concessions were extensive as fans packed into the bleachers.
Jessica Janeczko
During halftime, the homecoming royalty were announced as they walked out with their escorts. The Homecoming court included ninth-grader Layla Smith, sophomore Hailey Canham, juniors Noah Olmstead-Kiser and Gracie Storey, and seniors Mackenzie Wisner, Jessica Janeczko and Audri Garner. Jessica Janeczko was crowned homecoming queen.
Students followed the royalty to the field as they crowded to watch Mandy Storey set the “E” ablaze.
“Although there was no parade or Homecoming dance, the school participation in dress-up days and hallway decorations was AMAZING! It was so much fun to see the school unite in such a fun way and show their school spirit while dressing up and having fun with friends — omething that has been missing for awhile,” Leadership adviser Mandy Storey said.
Participation was high and watchers’ excitement was even higher. Overall, even without the dance and parade, it was a successful Homecoming Week.
