My First Homecoming Weekend

Blake High School held its Pep Rally and Homecoming Dance on October 6-7. Many of this year’s freshmen asked the same question I did: What’s going to happen during these events?

Students were dismissed at around 1:10 p.m. from their seventh-period class to make their way down to the football stadium. The students who were part of a fall sport were dismissed a few minutes before the rest of the school was. As everyone started getting seated, the DJ was playing music and hyping up the students who were already there. Everyone seemed super excited and was dancing and singing along to the music. 

The Pep Rally started as soon as everyone was seated, with cheers for each grade level as they were called out. Next, the SGA members introduced all the fall sports. The Drumline performance followed, but not before Drum Major Ben Willis asked his girlfriend to accompany him to Homecoming. The Drumline performances included Color Guard, POMS, and Varsity Cheer. After that, the Homecoming Court was announced. I must say the most entertaining part was seeing students and staff dance with Benny the Bengal, our school’s mascot.

Then, the games of the Pep Rally began! The games featured were hula hoop, spin around the cone, three-legged race, and balloon walk. Each team consisted of a couple of students and teachers from each grade. Each grade level’s athletes performed admirably; however, the sophomores were disqualified since their band for the 3-legged race had broken. The competition was ultimately won by the seniors. 

I must admit that I was shocked by how brief the Pep Rally was. I expected something more after the games, perhaps fundraising for a class, but that was all there was. I can’t speak for everyone, but I didn’t have as much fun at the pep rally as I expected. In the evening was our Homecoming game against Watkins Mill, which Blake won.

The following day was the Homecoming Dance. As I left my house that night, I failed to realize how cold it was going to be. When I arrived at the school, I met up with my friends, and we went inside. At first, there weren’t many people there, but as time passed, it got pretty packed. There was food in the hallways, a photo booth, Tim Ho running around taking photos, and the dance floor in the cafeteria. 

The dance floor was so much fun; there was a group of guys jumping around and singing, and flashlights were surrounding them as if it were some sort of concert. Multiple times, a conga line formed but broke off quickly due to the crowds. It was a great place to hang out with our friends and take a break from having to do schoolwork. On the dance floor, there were multiple groups of people jumping around, dancing, and singing. The line for the photo booth was crazy long, but in the end, the photo was worth it.

Overall, the Pep Rally and the Homecoming Dance are something to look forward to. They are a great way to start a brand new year and get new students excited about their high school experience. The Pep Rally, in my opinion, was a little underwhelming, but with my friends cheering for our class, I enjoyed it. The Homecoming Dance was super fun as well; it was a good way to catch up with friends you might not have seen in a while or to just enjoy the dance with your date. Hopefully, next year, these two events will be just as fun as they were this year.