By Angelina Tang
This was originally published before Homecoming week 2022.
Perhaps the only saving grace of school starting is that the first big event of the year, Homecoming, is coming up very soon! In gearing up for this year’s (partial) week of school spirit and events, let’s discuss what Homecoming ‘22 will entail for East.
Homecoming will begin on Friday the 23rd, on which the Pep Rally will be held. Each class will wear their color—freshmen are white, sophomores black, juniors yellow, and seniors red. If you bought them last week, please wear your class t-shirts! They should be distributed in the days leading up to this. The rally, which is outside on the football field, will include a performance from the pep band, as well as events such as a relay race and tug of war.
On Monday and Tuesday of the following week, there will not be any Homecoming events in recognition of Rosh Hashanah, but the voting for Homecoming Court should open on Monday. The candidates are pre-voted by the senior class.
Wednesday is our themed spirit day! The hoco theme is fantasy, and each individual class’s is as follows: freshmen are sci-fi, sophomores are magical creatures, juniors are villains, and seniors are heroes. In addition, after school, the Care Walk will be held at the East track at 3-4 pm. Your $5 donation to participate goes towards funding cancer awareness.
Thursday will be a long day… in a good way. First, it’s another themed dress-up! The theme is country vs. country club. You can choose to either dress up country-themed, like as a cowboy or wild west ruffian, or you can dress like you’re headed for a country club with polo shirts, tennis skirts, and gold uniforms—outfits of that nature. Have fun with it! After school, the Powderpuff game will be at 5 pm, in which the junior and senior girls will play touch football and the boys will cheerlead for them.
In addition, Thursday night, at 6 pm, Taste of East will begin. As a note to our freshmen, this is a uniquely East Homecoming experience that is certainly not to be missed! A number of our school clubs, as well as each of the classes, will set up booths in the parking lot and sell sweets, snacks, and drinks. All profits will be used for club activities, and the money each of the classes make will go towards their JDD and prom. Make sure you go out and support your class! Food trucks will also be available, if you’d just like to get some treats to enjoy with your friends. At 7 pm, the bonfire will also start! It’ll be outside on the front lawn overlooking Paradise Road. Activities will end at 8.
Finally, Friday is the last spirit day of Homecoming week. Seniors are welcome to dress up formally in suits and dresses, while everyone else wears red and gold. There will be a Pep Rally on the football field at 1 pm, where the winning nominees for the Homecoming Court will be announced! There will also be the sports parade, in which all of our East teams are showcased, as well as team games, which you can sign up for at the business office.
But Homecoming isn’t over quite yet—not until the dance! This year, the Homecoming dance will be held on Saturday, October 1st, from 6 to 9 pm. It will be inside in the gym. There will be a live DJ providing music, and the school store will be selling snacks and pizza, so bring cash. Tickets are $10 and are currently on sale in the library, all the way until Friday the 30th. Sadly, only East students are allowed, and you will have to show your student ID at the door. The reason for this is apparently so that all East students can have an opportunity to go, although there don’t look to be any space concerns outside…
The projected weather for the night is clear and cool. Although it’s advertised as semi-formal, most choose to dress up formally. Get your suits, button-ups, and ties ready; if you’re still in need of a dress and are worried about an online order not arriving in a week, a trip to the mall or a more unconventional but stylish outfit will certainly suffice. Remember, there is no proper dress code! As long as you don’t wear sweatpants and a hoodie, you’ll fit right in. Or, if you want to wear that, go right ahead! You’ll be the lucky person who’s not freezing when night falls. You don’t have to make a huge deal out of it unless you want to, which is, by all means, okay. I can relate to and respect that.
It truly feels great going back to a normal Homecoming, and hopefully the pride and spirit East has will fill this entire year with fun! After having highly regulated events for so long, it’s great to be able to celebrate together again. Get excited for the coming week and go make some proper high school memories to never forget.
