As the end of homecoming draws near, students campus participate in activities, including float building, getting the final clothes for dress up days, and enjoying the final princess pageants.

The day before homecoming happens to be a favorite of many students because, during chapel, king and queen candidates compete it in a dance contest known as The Royal Battle. The tradition continues among the senior homecoming candidates and consists of many favorite songs.

Some crowd favorites from this year’s dance-off include Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift, All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, and Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’ from Teen Beach Movie.

The kings and queens both have varying opinions how their own and each other’s performances went.

Queen candidate and assistant choreographer Maicy Luginbill explains how she feels her performance went.

“It was really good,” Luginbill said. “We took a lot of time practicing and performing it and I think it turned out perfect when we did it. I really enjoyed how after the competition we all hugged because we all did really good. I’m excited about this year’s homecoming because it’s my last one and I think it’s going the be the best one yet.”

Following the battle, king and queen teams gathered center stage with emcee Kyle Dodson to determine who would rule the homecoming battle. Dodson invited the royal judges, liaison Reggie Williams, home ec teacher Kimberly Bell and campus secretary Michelle Logan, to judge the teams’ performances. Dodson also urged the student spectators to stand and support their team of choice. It became evident that students felt that the king’s had stolen the show. The judges agreed. 

The underclassman support their favorite candidates through cheering during their dance and the voting process will continue the morning after the performance.

Shauna Howard, ’20, shares her thoughts on the king and queen dances.  

“I thought the performance was very well choreographed and I could tell the kings and queens were having fun,” Howard said. “My favorite dance was the second king’s dance, because they had a lot of variety and were very creative and when (teacher Mic) Fuller danced across the stage with the candy cane.”

Pajama day is one of the final dress-up days of homecoming, and this year is no different. Sleepwear of all kinds, from slippers to character onesies could be found in the hallway. Some students even brought stuffed animals and pillows.

Alexis Baker, ‘21, explains her favorite part of dressing up for pajama day. Baker also elaborated on her favorite dress-up day so far.

“I chose to dress up today because it was an excuse to be lazy,” Baker said. “You don’t have to change when you wake up, although I did. I really liked Topper Tuesday because everyone looked so ridiculous.”

The final piece and some may say, the most important part of homecoming is the floats. The senior class will support the Red Cross with their float and will be taking donations throughout the night. The float covers multiple eras that the Red Cross played a part in, including the devastation of 9/11 and the more recent occurrences of hurricanes throughout the country.

Senior Joey Huang feels confident in the float for this year and explains her favorite things about float building.

“My favorite part of our float was definitely the twin towers that we all worked together on and turned out looking super cool,” Huang said. “I was responsible for the artistic creativity on the float. I chose to participate simply because we needed someone to and I was able to, but I enjoyed it tremendously. The best part would totally be the bonding that we had during the building. We talked and laughed and just chilled. It was an unforgettable experience filled with good memories.”

The last of the princess pageants happened at lunch. Over the past few days, each class cheered on their candidates as they competed in games such as Kajabe Can-Can and bubble balls. The final round included the princesses answering questions with a chance of falling in a dunk tank if they answered a trivia question wrong.

Jewel Chandler, ‘21, discusses her favorite parts of the princess pageant and the week.

“I enjoyed watching it because it was cool to see them working together to win for their grade,” Chandler said. “I loved all the enthusiasm from the students in the stands supporting their representative. I think one of my favorite moment from the past few days was getting to see everyone dress up for homecoming and showing school spirit!”

Student leadership will reignite the idea of a bonfire night rally, Oct. 5. This time it will be hosted at sophomore Hunter Nale’s family barn, begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m.

Students have an opportunity to bond together before homecoming night and spend time with the football and cheer teams. A bus will be available to take those who can not drive to and from the bonfire. Bus spots are limited and signs up are in the high school office. Students who are taking the bus will meet in the high school parking lot at 5:45 p.m. and the bus will return to the campus by 8:45 p.m.

The 33rd annual homecoming is tomorrow, Oct. 6. The football game begins at 7:00 p.m. but floats will be available for viewing earlier. The theme for this year is Homecoming for Humanity, and floats will be judged on donation intake as well as design.

The day is almost here! Come out and support the class of your choosing, and students, be sure to dress up for spirit Friday!

Below are pictures captured throughout the day of campus life, including images from the royal battle, princess pageant, and the fourth dress up day.

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For the last homecoming article, read Homecoming for Humanity: Wish-Upon-a-Star Wednesday and for another feature, read Homecoming: Seniors cooperate with American Red Cross for homecoming theme.

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