Homecoming 2024: Student Government Prepares for a City of Stars

Presleigh Duncan, Staff Writer • November 7, 2024

Picture of HOCO sign featured at Homecoming night. Photo taken by Sunny Beak.

On the night of October 11th, 2024, from 7 to 11 p.m., memories were made, friendships were strengthened, and eardrums were blasted by the music of various cultures. The Village School’s Homecoming (HOCO) Dance was held in the Moore Gym, located in the Middle School facility. As students partied and laughed with one another, I watched with pride, knowing that, as one of the Freshman Representatives, I had the opportunity to help put together the 2024 Homecoming Dance as a member of The Village High School’s Student Government.

From left to right, Teacher Andrea Sealy throws away trash, while Senior Representative, Rahman Ovezov, (Senior) , Vice President, Gene Hur(Senior), Senior Representative, Ebun Fashoro(Senior), Senior Representative Zahira Adeniyi(Senior), and Senior Representative, Tisha Dumrongthai(Senior) try out the new dance floor. Photo taken by Sunny Baek.

Many things go into play when creating Homecoming, such as time consuming, challenging, preparation and necessary creativity when planning decorations. There are many moving parts to make it come to life. “After we finalized the theme (City of Stars), we scouted out the Moore Gym to get a layout for the Homecoming decorations…afterwards we worked in a team to make a spreadsheet to input the decorations that were purchased for HOCO,” said junior Eddie Wang, Secretary of the Student Government, and head of the Homecoming Committee. “After we finalized the theme (City of Stars), we scouted out the Moore Gym to get a layout for the Homecoming decorations…afterwards we worked in a team to make a spreadsheet to input the decorations that were purchased for HOCO,” said Wang.

Junior Representative, Anthony Rodas(left), and Junior, Secretary, Eddie Wang(right), hot glue and tape together a moon for the HOCO sign. Photo taken by Sunny Baek.

Additionally, it took the committee two days to set up and decorate the gym. Throughout the day before the big dance, the team finished hot gluing and taping together the big white HOCO letters as decorations, and placed all the light bulbs in them, so they could shine big and bright for the dance. We also blew up the balloons, placed the tablecloths and transported other materials to the Moore Gym, so they could be there when we set up that following morning. The next day was spent finishing our decorations, and finishing our setup for the big night just a few hours later. “We made sure everything was proper,” said Adrienne Wang, Freshman Representative who helped out that Saturday.

Senior Representative, Tisha Dumrongthai(left), and Senior, Vice President Gene Hur(right)), tape down city outline against the bleachers. Photo taken by Sunny Baek.

Though many did exemplify hard work throughout their dedication to help setup, there were only 5 members who were able to stay after the 4 hour party, and help clean up. Those 5 were Senior, Sunny Baek (President), Senior, Gene Hur (Vice- President), Junior, Eddie Wang (Secretary), Sophomore, Sophie Newman (Sophomore Representative) and Sophomore, Tvisha Prasad (Sophomore Representative). “I stayed for around an hour after the dance, to help cleanup.” said Newman. “We essentially threw away most of the decorations but kept the ones we could use for future years and we brought some of the bigger decorations to the high school, we carried them over.”

From left to right Freshman Representative Adrienne Wang(Freshman), Secretary Eddie Wang(Junior), Freshman Representative Presleigh Duncan(Freshman), Teacher Andrea Sealy, Senior Representative Ebun Fashoro(Senior), and Junior Representative Maria Antonia(Junior), create garland to hang over the entrance doors. Photo taken by Sunny Baek.

From scoping out the layout to working hard on decorating, Student Government showed great effort in making this year’s Homecoming Dance. So next time you see one of us, thank us for the hard work we put in to give you an unforgettable high school experience. I’m sure many could agree that City of Stars couldn’t have shined as bright without the members of The Village High School’s Student Government.

About the Contributor

Presleigh Duncan, Writer

Presleigh Duncan is a fun-loving freshman at The Village School. She is thrilled to be a new member of The Viking Press staff as a dedicated writer. She joined Viking Media to deepen her knowledge and further pursue her talent in journalism. She was the Editor-In-Chief for her newspaper at The Honor Roll School in previous years. She has a strong love for musical theater, writing, and photography. She’s involved in The Village School’s student government as one of the freshman representatives. She is also a member of the Speech & Debate team. She aspires to be a filmmaker or politician as she continues her journey.