Green! Gold! Green! Gold!

I’m going to assume you chanted with me right now just as the whole school did at our last Homecoming Week event, Green and Gold Day. After a long week of costumes and face paint, students brought their all one last time this year, repping their school colors with pride whether it was with the amazingly designed shirt by freshman Sarah Henriques or with the swag sale packages presented by SGA. Many awaited this day to finally find out after a week of activities and fun, who was taking home the title of the 2021 Homecoming Week.

Before the oncoming pep rally, I asked a few people who they think will win, “Seniors, duh!” senior Gabriela Danger said with no hesitation while others thought differently.

“I may be biased because I’m a sophomore, but I think the sophomores got it. I’ve seen some people going crazy [for today] like Sebastian Debora showed up in a banana costume and underneath that he was wearing glittery pants,”,said sophomore Danna Cahalela about who would win HOCO 2021.

Well, before the school could even start the celebration, seniors made sure to make a grand entrance by working together with Ms. Colette Varese, Mr. Timothy Gamwell, and Mr. Luis De Prada to make sure the school knew who the kings of the jungle were. The lights went out, music started playing, and the banging of doors could be heard throughout the gym as seniors ran in with lights and glow sticks all around the gym before they took their place. This was one of many efforts from this class to make sure they were fulfilling their mission  in this school– to be beacons of hope and to always be bold.

“It’s obvious that you guys are really invested in everything like you guys have brought in every element of what the school is about,” sophomore Maya Martinez said about the seniors.

“It’s really endearing watching those seniors. I, personally, get intimidated by seniors but this year the seniors are just so nice and they are in fact beacons of hope. They’ve really spread their spirit to everyone else and it’s so sweet. I love them, I love the seniors.”, added sophomore Danna. Yet what they don’t know is that the seniors themselves were impressed by each other’s willingness to unite as one, “It really makes me feel happy to be a part of this class because usually it’s true we are not all best friends with each other but when we are in that area, I mean, we really are all doing our best to push that aside and I think that Alyssa, Iggy, Kiara, all of them are doing a fantastic job of kind of making us all, you know, do this and like seniors be running this for real.” added Gaby with a smile.” 

During the pep rally, the school was able to celebrate all our athletic teams from swim to our football team as they have all worked hard to represent our school as well as witnessing the efforts of other teams. The cheerleaders once again came out and gave it their all with our traditional school chants and amazing jumps & tricks. The show was not over though with our talented dance team, the Lionettes, giving a performance with the senior players of the football team as they grooved to the beat of a remix of popular songs like “Single Ladies” by Beyonce. Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for came around as senior Alyssa Vega spoke in the microphone, “in fourth place, we have the freshmen. In third, we have the sophomores.” And finally, the winners of homecoming were announced with the anticipation of rowing with the stomps of the juniors and seniors until she said “in first place… we have the seniors!”. The senior crowd roared and confetti appeared in the air as everyone cheered in their victory. Although our graduating class won, they continuously praised the other classes as they were constantly impressed by the spirit they brought to each event. It was an energy they hadn’t felt in the gym in over a year. That’s how we conclude a successful and joyful homecoming week and we only hope the juniors will carry on the legacy to always inspire and lead their underclassmen as the years go by. Although my class won’t be here for the next one, I just hope next year will be just as unforgettable as this one was for us. Good luck class of 2023, 2024, 2025, and, soon, our incoming class of 2026.