Football season is coming to an end, which to many in the SPF community means Homecoming. This year, Homecoming is more than just a football game, many students will attend the dance Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Now that the Homecoming dance has been announced, some discussions between students don’t seem to be entirely enthusiastic. They are not thrilled about its date and the inability to invite those outside of SPFHS.
“When I first heard about it, I didn’t feel any hype around it,” junior David Ruiz told The Fanscotian. “It does feel weird that it’s on a Wednesday, especially the day after [junior] PSATS.”
Most of the other high schools hold a Homecoming dance on the Saturday following the Homecoming football game. With this, it could serve as an uplifting make-up for a devastating loss of the popular game, using last year’s as an example.
Although the addition of the dance was quite last minute, next year’s Homecoming taking place on a Saturday could renew the excitement and have double the amount of this year’s hype.
“It’s essential for us. [High school] is such a short period of time that you want to get the most out of,” Ruiz said. “But I [have] friends that are disappointed because they want to bring their boyfriends or girlfriends [and] can’t because [the space] is limited.”
SPFHS students are also curious about the dance’s return and why it hasn’t been a recent tradition.
“It wasn’t hard to bring back,” President of Parent Teacher Association Ratna S. Wright said. “[Though,] with little to no [sign up] interest [as event] parent volunteers, [it] makes it harder to organize.”
Wright doesn’t know the reason why the Homecoming dance did not take place in years past. She noted this could have been one of the many factors.
“Last year’s 9th and 10th grade dance [allowed us to] want to do something inclusive for all the grades,” Wright said. “It was too late to organize a Homecoming dance in 2022, [so] Dr. Heisey showed strong support and granted approval [for this year].”
A Homecoming dance allows students, especially those newer to the school, to feel welcomed in their high school’s atmosphere and have a positive outlook on the year from the great experience they’d have at this event.
“It is nice for freshmen to have a big school event to attend right off the bat and see the whole student body come together,” Accelerated and AP Chemistry teacher Michael Abadir said.
It gives underclassmen something to look forward to that is similar to an event like prom, which all students go head over heels about.
“It is hard to tell if a Homecoming dance would be well attended,” Abadir said. “Based on [last year’s] ninth and 10th grade dance, not too many students came.”
Students have been longing for a Homecoming dance for years that is not only supported by the school’s Parent Teacher Association, but unlike the ninth and 10th grade dance, is also supported by the students themselves. Last year was the first year having a student representative on the school’s Board of Education. With classmates, primarily older students, supporting the dance, it is guaranteed to be successful.
Although the PTA wasn’t able to have a student representative for the planning of this year’s homecoming dance, Wright met with members of the Student Government Association to brainstorm ideas for the event and prioritize the preferences of students themselves.
“It was during these discussions that the SGA club members suggested the ‘red carpet’ theme, decorations, dinner menu and the presence of a professional photographer,” Wright said. “I would like to organize it with more involvement from the students next year (if I am still the PTA President).”
Students get excited about and look forward to after school events, especially the football games. Like the sport’s Homecoming game, a Homecoming dance would be just as appealing to any student with the correct support and usage of its funds.
“I believe we have a very good number for a Wednesday Homecoming dance. We are nearing the sale of 300 tickets, and the ticket sales are open until Monday,” Wright said.
