Homecoming preparations are in full swing across the Upper School with the week full of festivities approaching. Decorations are being painted, homecoming t-shirts are being designed and turnabout teams are forming and practicing.
Every weekend beginning from Sept. 9, students have gathered at Greenhill to create homecoming decorations which will be hung up and cover the Upper School buildings starting on Oct. 10 and until the end of homecoming festivities on Oct. 13. Once completed, these decorations are to be placed among various subject pods, each with a different theme correlating to the overall 2023 homecoming theme of Y2K.
“[For their last decoration day], we are going to try to get a ton of people out to paint all of the decorations and hang them up,” senior Sophie Schwartz said.
So far, each weekend has resulted in a larger turnout than the last, but student body class officers still hope for larger turnouts.
“The English pod is 2000s movies and shows, the history pod is TV nostalgia, the language pod is 2000s sports and athletes, the math pod is toys, candy and games, the science village is everything 2000s tech innovation, the student center is Y2K magazines and the upperclassmen locker room is 2000s albums and artists,” senior Josie Arbuckle said.
Additionally, each year, representatives from each grade of the Upper School participate in color war games during homecoming week. These events range from physical activities to trivia competitions.
“We are really excited to have a lip sync battle, do you know your date [game], a basketball competition and Friday’s annual turnabout games,” Arbuckle said.
Turnabout games are a homecoming tradition involving juniors and seniors. Male-identifying juniors and seniors compete in a game of beach volleyball, and female-identifying students from the two grades compete in flag football.
Annually, upperclassmen students who choose to can order a custom tank top: color-coordinated by grade level and personalized with the student’s preferred nickname. The senior jerseys are black while the juniors’ are white, and both have the same design.
Homecoming also offers seniors unique opportunities.
“I’m most excited to be a senior,” Schwartz said. “We get to have a homecoming court and help plan the pep rally.”
Arbuckle is looking forward to these aspects of the week as well, especially wearing her senior mum and participating in advisory traditions.
“[Homecoming] is going to be a blast. The [color war games] are always so much fun,” Arbuckle said.
