Hello Freshies!  It’s been a month since you entered high school.  You’re just getting used to it, and now we’re throwing Homecoming at you.  And it can be pretty confusing the first time around.  So, for the sake of your sanity, I’ve written a guide to help you survive homecoming.

   A couple of the events span the entire week.  The Penny War is just like the penny wars in middle school, where pennies add to your class’ score and other forms of money take away from it.  Monday through Thursday there’s also a canned food drive – you bring in canned food, we give it to charity.  Oh, and there’s the dress up days.  This part is almost exactly like Winter Fest at the middle school, except there’s no prize for the best costume—it’s just for fun!

   Monday is Class Color Day.  All of the classes—graduating classes, that is—are assigned a color.  The class of ‘14 is green, ‘13 is orange, ‘12 is yellow, and ‘11 is purple.  You don’t have to go all-out “all clothes are green and my hair is sprayed and I LOOK LIKE THE JOLLY GREEN GIANT HUZZAH” if you don’t want to.  And if you do want to, more power to you!  Likewise, Wednesday is Twilight/Film Reel day, where freshmen and juniors wear white and sophomores and seniors wear black.  Friday is spirit day where we all wear the school colors, red and white.  You don’t have to dress like a monochromatic moron to make it apparent that you have spirit, but for a new twist this year the male and female student exhibiting the best red and white on Friday will be named Mr. and Ms. Red & White, earn bonus points for their class, and get a special spot in the parade!

   Alter Ego is the name of the game on Tuesday.  It’s little more than an excuse to dress and act like the opposite of you.  Are you a jock?  Be a geek!  Are you a geek?  Be a rebel!  Are you a rebel?  Be your favorite cartoon character!  Don’t like labels?  Be a total conformist!  On Thursday, Pajama Day, you can take a moment or six to just be comfortable for the day in your jammies.  And if you don’t want to dress up at all, that’s fine too.  There’s lots of other ways to participate!

   One of the first events of Homecoming is the Powder Puff Football Game.  Girls go out on the field and toss the pig skin, and the boys cheer them on!  It’s on Monday at 6:15 p.m., on the football field.  There’s no cost to get in.  If you’re not a big fan of sports, you might still enjoy it, so don’t necessarily pass it up just because of that!

   Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium is the Lip-Sync Competition.  If you’re a fan of silly humor, you will certainly enjoy it.  Boys in skirts and wigs is a tradition, motorcycles have been ridden across the stage before, and The Powerpuff Girls theme song has been used at least twice.  It’s not meant to be taken seriously.  And it’s free, so if you have the time and think it’ll appeal to you, check it out!

   Here comes the big one – Friday.  All classes are shortened.  We’re dismissed for lunch fairly early.  Then, there’s Circle Bash.  You can eat all sorts of fast food and restaurant food from places like Rocky Rococo’s and China House.  It’s a little expensive, though.  Regular lunch is still offered.  Next are the sporting events – you can sign up for ping-pong, volleyball, dodgeball, Mancala, or a scavenger hunt.  These all take place between Circle Bash and the one other thing you can sign up for… Almost Anything Goes, which is exactly what it says it is – it’s a bunch of lighthearted class vs. class competitions.  It’s a little hard to describe, but it’s a lot of fun!

   Finally, the dance.  At 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, we all get dressed up, walk in the doors, and marvel at how different the MPR looks, and stand around awkwardly until the music starts.  This is not Activity Night, by any stretch of the imagination.  If you’re not going to dance, the only thing to really do is sit around and drink punch.  But if you’re not a good dancer, don’t worry about it too much.  The people who would judge you tend to either not go, or are too absorbed in something else to notice.  Make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time.  They are only sold until 3:30 on Friday.

   All and all, the spirit of Homecoming is having fun and showing your spirit for the school.  So just do the things you want to do, and don’t worry about what you can’t or don’t want to do.