Homecoming week to focus on school spirit, traditions

Siloam Springs High School's student council is looking to bring back traditions, increase student involvement and boost school spirit during homecoming week.

Students will celebrate homecoming week with dress-up days, a mock wedding on Thursday, and a pep rally, parade and coronation ceremony on Friday -- all leading up to the homecoming game against Greenwood on Friday night.

Homecoming schedule

Friday, Oct. 5

12:35 p.m. — Assembly in the high school PAC

2 p.m. — Parade starting at the middle school and ending in Twin Springs Park

2:45 p.m. — Community pep rally at Twin Springs Park

6:30 p.m. — Coronation in Panther Stadium

7 p.m. — Homecoming football game vs. Greenwood

Halftime — Recognition of the 2018 girls soccer state championshp team and ring presentation

Student Council co-presidents McKenzie Blanchard and Landon Cottrell said they met with Principal Anne Martfeld at the beginning of the school year to begin planning this year's festivities. They decided to focus on bringing back traditions, increasing student and community involvement, and improving school spirit.

Student and community engagement is especially important, Blanchard said. They hope to reach not only high school students, but also students at all grade levels,"so we're growing horizontally and vertically," Cottrell said.

One way the school encouraged school spirit and game attendance was to give away 100 free all-sports passes to SSHS athletic events to students on Sept. 7.

Another student engagement plan is to encourage clubs and organizations to decorate floats and participate in the homecoming parade on Friday to get as many students as possible involved.

Blanchard and Cottrell said they searched through old yearbooks to learn about school traditions. One of the traditions they discovered was a mock wedding.

For $1, students can cast a vote on their favorite boy or girl on the homecoming court. The court members with the most votes will be the bride and groom. On Thursday, the bride and groom will be dressed in very tacky wedding attire and walk through the high school courtyard with their wedding party.

"(They will wear) really goofy wedding dresses and funny ties, and big clown shoes for the dude, and we'll have them walk in front of everybody in the courtyard," Cottrell said.

Blanchard and Cottrell said they hope bringing back traditions will help make homecoming a true home coming for alumni, fitting with this year's theme of "Coming Home."

"We really want to make it about the people who started this," Blanchard said. "We want to have the people that have lived here their entire lives come out and support the team."

General News on 09/30/2018