From October 6 to October 12, Irvington High School hosted a slightly unconventional, but uniquely spectacular Homecoming week centered around the main theme: “Night in the Museum”.
In contrast to traditional Homecoming weeks, this one began on a Friday and continued up till Thursday of the next week. This week kicked off with a Blue Crew Friday where everyone dressed in Irvington merchandise. This proved to be a success as much of the student body was seen dressed up in Blue Crews and other Irvington apparel, setting a strong theme of unity for the rest of the week.
Returning to school on Monday the Juniors were well prepared to represent their class with their “Jurassic” themed bench set up. Tuesday was reserved for the Sophomores who were enthusiastic to show their improvement from their last year’s defeat. Even more spirited were the Sophomores who got together to pull off their “Under the Sea” theme, featuring colorful, aquatic decorations. Next the freshmen showcased their Homecoming theme of the “Medieval Times”, including a drink pub as an interactive prop in their first ever bench. Last but certainly not least, the Senior class showed up early to school on Thursday ready with hopes of taking home the win. With 4 years of bench experience, the Seniors were excited to put on their final, “Outer Space”-themed set up. Donning their class tees, the Seniors stormed the hallways, cheering and chanting as their last hurrah. However, the preparation and execution of this week was not without its challenges.
“Junior year is definitely a hard year, so a lot of people weren’t able to fully commit to anything. But I think overall, we all came together to pull off a successful bench set up” revealed Junior Class Officer, Kelly Jia (11).
Beyond morning bench set ups, high levels of spirit persisted through the school days due to a culmination of fun dress up days and lunch time events. On Monday, ASG hosted the class lip sync battles during lunch in the big gym. Fueled by friendly competition , these battles gave a chance for all classes to come together at the beginning of the spirit week and support their classmates. Featuring dramatic choreographies to songs from the Freshmen’s Barbie World to the Juniors’ rendition of California Gurls, the event drew rounds of laughter and applause from the audience. Through voting, ultimately the Seniors were declared as the winners for their dance choreographed to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
On Tuesday many students gathered inside the main gym to find out who the top four Homecoming royalty nominees were. Students were very thrilled to find out that seniors: Reet Randhawa, Michelle Nguyen, Brayden Louie, and Yanyang Xia had made it to the top four.
Throughout the week, the dress-up days added a splash of spirit and creativity into the school atmosphere.
This week included many memorable dress up days, such as the Sophomores’ “White Lie Wednesday”, the Juniors’ “Dress your Type Day” and of course, the Seniors’ classic “Senior Citizen” day.
“Spirit days had a lot of participation like Barbie day, which was a hit among us newcomers.” shared Sahana Panday (9). With this being their first year experiencing Irvington-style dress up days, the freshmen seemed especially thrilled to be joining this long-standing tradition.
“Everyone went all out, especially on senior citizen day; it was a lot of fun,” noted Siddhi Adheshra (12) “Seniors definitely put in more effort, because it’s their last year, why wouldn’t they?” As expected, with this being their final year at Irvington, the seniors were highly motivated to put their all into winning the Triple Crown.
The last event of the week before the actual dance were the class dances that took place during lunch on the blacktop during lunch on Thursday. Students from each grade participated in these dances, and their weeks of hard work and practice from choreographers and dancers were apparent in the quality of their performances. Event organizers also faced obstacles throughout the planning process.
“It’s been really hectic because we have to find so many different times and schedules that work for everyone. But I think the dedication put in by everyone was crazy, and it was really satisfying to see the end product of all our hard work” shared sophomore class officer, Nandini Bhatter (10).
Finally came the most awaited event of the week: the Homecoming Dance. On Thursday evening at 6:30pm, lines started forming outside the Victory Tunnel as eager students checked in then flocked into the Courtyard.
To start off the dance, ASG hosted the annual Homecoming Rally in the big gym, highlighting a variety of entertaining performances and interactive games. These included a dance from the ICED club, the crowning of the Homecoming Royalty, and an Angry Birds-inspired game in which audience members competed in a race to use slingshots to pop balloons on a cardboard tower.
At 8pm, the rally concluded and dance attendees moved outside to the Courtyard to officially begin the Homecoming dance. The dance featured a plethora of activities. Many students rushed to get in line for the food provided, which included pizza, cookies, nachos, and chips. The Courtyard was set up beautifully with projector screens flanking the stage at the center displaying iconic artwork, such as Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, tying the decorations to the week’s overarching theme of “Night at the Museum”. Throughout the night, students enjoyed taking photos at various stations set up around the Courtyard, moshing in front of the DJ booth, playing games with their friends, and much more.
This year’s Homecoming week was not only successful but was also memorable for all. From the schoolwide unity day on Friday to the Homecoming dance on Thursday evening, the enthusiasm and spirited participation shown in the morning benches, dress up days, lunch time events, and the rally stood as testaments to the overwhelming sense of community and dedication of Irvington students.
