Homecoming in District 94 makes memories and preserves traditions
There is nothing like a homecoming week to excite our students and staff and invigorate our school.
Community High School District 94 celebrated homecoming in September with a week's worth of activities that opened our doors, involved our community and energized our school.
While some of our activities have changed over our school's long history (since 1904), the premise of homecoming hasn't changed - to welcome home alumni and retired staff.
Our theme this year was "Wild, Wild West Chicago," chosen by our student council. The cowboy theme prevailed in many of our activities, such as window painting, student and staff "dress days" wearing cowboy hats, boots and flannel shirts, and even in the music played over the loudspeaker during passing periods.
A dodgeball tournament, tailgating for girls volleyball and boys soccer matches, and an outdoor movie night on the football field rounded out the weekday activities.
By far the busiest day of the week was Friday. A shortened schedule preceded a pep assembly that was created and organized by our Pep Club. Cheerleaders, pom pons, and the band performed. One highlight of the assembly revolved around the performance of our Cheer Club.
Last year, one of our cheerleaders created an opportunity for students with disabilities to become cheerleaders. She recruited the girls, secured uniforms, taught routines and practiced with them.
The Cheer Club continues this year and when they performed, our 2,000 students gave them a standing ovation.
The Homecoming Court was introduced and the king and queen were crowned. Queen Aimee Schofield and King Colton Sammons presided over the court.
After school was dismissed, students organized a food fest to raise funds for their clubs and activities. The local police and fire departments led the parade that stepped off at 12:45 p.m.
Our staff then joined retired staff for an afternoon tea reception, while the girls took the field for the Powder Puff football games.
Friday culminated with the football games, where both our sophomore and varsity teams came away with wins before a huge crowd of fans including alumni, students, parents, staff and community members.
On Saturday, students dressed in their finest and danced the night away in our transformed gymnasium.
I am a history buff and want to help preserve the rich history here at Community High School. Homecoming is a special event, but there are many more that should be commemorated as well.
To this end, I am seeking a few alumni or community members who would help gather and archive mementos of our school's history. If you are interested in developing and assisting us with this project, email me at ddomeracki@d94.org.
• Doug Domeracki is superintendent of Community High School District 94. His column appears in Neighbor monthly during the school year.