It has been over a month since the entirety of Wesleyan participated in the biggest week of the year, Homecoming. It goes without saying that this event is unparalleled in its size and significance to Wesleyan. It is the event that brings the past, present and future of the school together to experience true community and comradery. It is the event that every student looks forward to each year with great anticipation. It is the event that introduces the freshmen to their high school maturation and begins the seniors send off into college preparation. It is the ambitious, auspicious occasion at the beginning of the year that sets the tone and gives the school enthusiastic inspiration. Homecoming is a memorable affair that every year, gets bigger and bigger.
Homecoming season began with the reveal of its theme and this year’s Homecoming reveal was nothing short of explosive, literally. On the first Monday of the school year, students filed into Austin Chapel with eagerness. They were treated to a viewing of the trailer put together by student government. After watching the trailer, it was revealed to them that the theme for this year would be: “Out of this World.” A theme that not only encompassed space, stars and planets, but the idea of innovative thinking and imagination. A common idea presented by the entire student government was the concept of not just thinking “out of the box,” but thinking “out of this world” in order to have the greatest school year possible. This concept really resonated with the entire school.
English teacher and student government adviser Robin Godard said, “Beyond the literal level, the ‘Out of This World’ theme served to challenge the status quo and bring a broader and more inclusive perspective to the campus while also honoring well-loved homecoming traditions.” After introducing the theme, the student government presented the themes for each specific day of Homecoming week. The day’s themes were: Monday: “Green, Gold, White,” Tuesday: “Twin Day,” Wednesday: “Stages of Life,” Thursday: “Meme Day” and Friday: “Out of this World Day.” The teachers and students erupted in excitement and joy after hearing the break down for each day. The energy was palpable.
Just when the school thought Student Government was done with the surprises, the members lined up on stage and filled the isle of Austin Chapel. While the Student Body President was giving a speech, the student government representatives armed themselves with giant confetti cannons. At the end of the speech, they took the confetti and shot it in the air. The audience exploded, and the countdown to Homecoming began.
Four weeks after the innovative and exhilarating Homecoming reveal, that special week commenced. Each day of the week not only had a theme, but they also had individual activities assigned to them to help boost school spirit for Friday. On Monday morning, students came dressed in their favorite green, gold and white Wesleyan apparel. The activity for this day was a fun Monday Morning Meeting game called, “Who’s That Senior?” A game that introduced the student body to this year’s senior Homecoming Court by presenting embarrassing pictures of them when they were young. The school enjoyed the activity, and it was a humorous way to start off the week. On Tuesday, students participated in twin day, a day that encouraged a group of two or more students to dress the same. Costumes ranged from a group of people dressed as pees in a pod, hot sauce and Sriracha packets, and Cheetah Girls. The school was also treated to college advisers Erica Engsberg, Dayna Thompson, Kendra Morris, and Andrea Shupert dressing as pregnant women. The creativity of the Wesleyan high school community was put on full display on this day. The activity planned for Tuesday was a grade level field day that took place on the baseball field. Grade levels participated in a variety of competitions such as tug of war, three-legged race, sack race, a water balloon toss and a shoe relay.
Wednesday started off with the student government reps passing out Moon Pies to the whole school, while everyone dressed up as a “Stage of Life.” On Thursday, students were allowed to dress up as their favorite meme and were also treated to the very first Wesleyan dodge ball tournament between the entire high school and staff. Unsurprisingly, after four long and hard games, the seniors took the victory. Friday was “Out of this World Day” where the students dressed as their favorite space characters from any movie or show. Friday was the main event of the week. Friday first began with a pep rally filled with games, performances by the cheerleaders and band, and a special glow in the dark performance by the student government representatives.
Bible Department Chair Glenn Archer said, “The Homecoming Pep Rally was absolutely one of the great highlights of Homecoming week for the entire Wesleyan Community. There was great energy, great enthusiasm and great unity displayed by all who led us and prepared us for that time together.” After the pep rally, students had the opportunity to enjoy various activities such as karaoke, basketball and bounce houses. Friday culminated in a thunderous win for the Wolves football team beating Our Lady of Mercy 51-7. Saturday night was the big night; students packed the football field to enjoy the Homecoming dance. The dance was filled with great energy, excitement, music and most of all a live stream of the Notre Dame vs. Georgia football game.
This year’s Homecoming week was not to be forgotten. Now that is over, this community can truly appreciate just how special this event was. Junior Nicholas Hess said, “I felt like this year’s Homecoming week was new, fresh, well- received and showed what the student government is capable of doing. I’m real pumped for the future.” This Homecoming really was out of this world.
