By Shailey Klein
Oak Hall School’s Student Government Association (SGA) is looking forward to putting on a spectacular homecoming week this year, while working alongside administration, faculty, and students. This year’s homecoming week is Oct. 13 through Oct. 19, and includes students from the Lower School all the way to the Upper School. Senior Emma Anderson, SGA President, is looking forward to fantastic week. “All of the officers and I have been working hard to increase school spirit and make this the best homecoming week possible,” she said enthusiastically.
This year, many new activities have been implemented in hopes of increasing school spirit across all divisions. Despite Homecoming Week mainly being targeted for the Upper School, there are modified dress-up days for the Lower and Middle School listed below. A new addition to Homecoming Week is the student vs. faculty dodgeball game featuring Upper School students facing off against the faculty from all divisions. Buffy McTureous, Athletics Administrative Assistant and Upper School Spirit Club Faculty Sponsor, is spearheading the push to make school spirit better than ever before. “The goal for Spirit Club is to get the faculty and students involved in school spirit,” she said. “We hope to get everyone involved with the dodgeball game during homecoming week,” McTureous continued.
The Class of 2021 decorated its hallway in a Hawaiian theme for “Deck the Halls” during Homecoming 2018.
Another highlight to Homecoming Week is an all-school parade which runs through the Lower School Circle the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 18. Ultimately, the goal is to unite students, faculty, and staff across all divisions and celebrate Oak Hall leading up to the football game Friday night, and the Homecoming dance for the Upper School students Saturday night.
Homecoming Week officially begins Sunday, Oct. 13, from 1-4 p.m. with the now-annual “Deck the Halls” in the Upper School. “Deck the Halls” is a competition where each grade decorates its hallway a different theme, while each grade is aiming to make its hallway the most spirited. Last year, the Class of 2021 and Class of 2022 tied for first place with the themes being Hawaii and Alaska, respectively. This year’s theme for the week is “Color Wars,” and each grade is assigned a specific color to deck its hall.
Freshmen, Class of 2023: Neon Green
Sophomores, Class of 2022: Neon Orange
Juniors, Class of 2021: Neon Pink
Seniors, Class of 2020: Neon Blue
Monday, Oct. 14, the theme for the Upper School and Middle School is “Merica Monday,” which requests students to dress in their most patriotic attire, while the Lower School is participating in pajama day. The Upper School activity during lunch is Powderpuff Football, where the girls from each grade take the field in a competitive flag football game coached by the football players.
Avery Means, Class of 2019 and Ally Means, Class of 2021 dress up for the annual “Merica Monday” during last year’s Homecoming Week
The Upper School and Middle School theme for Tuesday, Oct. 15, is “Tropical Tuesday,” which equates to dressing up in beachy attire, while “Tie Dye Tuesday” is the theme for the Lower School. The Upper School activity is the “Newleyweds Game” during lunch. In this activity, the Homecoming Court is participating in “Minute-to-Win It” games, as the students from each class cheer on their Homecoming Court representatives in the gym.
Elizabeth Olcese, Class of 2020 asks questions to members of the Homecoming Court in last years’ “Newlyweds Game”.
Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Upper School’s dress up day is VSCO girls vs. E-boys, as the boys dress up as trendy teenage girls flaunting scrunchies, oversized t-shirts, and Hydroflask water bottles; while the girls dress up as guys who don all black clothes, hair, nails, etc. as well as skateboards (although skateboarding in the halls is not allowed!). The Middle School is participating “Wacky Tacky Day,” while the Lower School has “Wacky Hat Wednesday”. During lunch on Wednesday, the Upper School is participating in, and watching, an intense game of “Powderbuff Volleyball” where each grade in the the Upper School fields a boys volleyball team, coached by the members of the girls varsity volleyball team.
Ally Means, Class of 2021, runs the football up the field as she and her team compete in the annual “Powderpuff Game” during Homecoming festivities last year.
Thursday, Oct. 17 is the BIG color war day. Students in the Upper School will sport their grade’s color in their outfits and accessories in hopes of being crowned the most spirited grade. The Middle School dress up theme is “Blast from the Past”, where students can dress up from the time period of their choice. The Lower School is participating in “Silly Sock” day. Many Upper School students are able to wear their Homecoming t-shirt which is their grade color that day. SGA partnered with McTureous to give students the opportunity to sign up to order a t-shirt by Sept. 24. In addition, one of the most highly anticipated activities during Homecoming week occurs during FLEX period. From 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the gym, the kindergarten through 12th grade faculty is challenging the Upper School students in a game of high-stakes dodgeball. First, the Upper School classes compete against one another to be crowned as the Upper School Champion. Then, the Upper School Champion compete against the entire faculty to be named the All-School Champion. Students in the Middle School will watch the dodgeball games, along with the Upper School students, cheering on their peers.
Students from the Class of 2019 participate in the Upper School dodgeball game during last years’ Homecoming Week.
Finally, Friday, Oct. 18 is the busiest day of Homecoming Week. The all-school theme for the day is “Burgundy & Gold Spirit Day,” so be prepared to sport your best Oak Hall gear, face-paint, etc. The entire school is going to be on a half-day schedule with classes ending at 12:30 p.m. From 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., students have the opportunity to eat lunch, and then Upper School students can finish up their floats for the Homecoming Parade. At 1:30 p.m., the first ever Homecoming Parade will feature a float from each grade in the Upper School, clubs, sports teams, and the Homecoming Court. The parade will run through the Lower/Middle School Circle, as students line the sidewalks to watch.
Middle and Upper School students will come together for the annual Homecoming Pep Rally to show support for the football team, who will take the field later in the evening.
Immediately following the parade, a pep rally is scheduled in the gym at 3 p.m. for Upper and Middle School students, to get everyone excited for the football game at 7 p.m. that evening. Before the football game, one big tailgating party is occurring in the Upper School circle, known as “Fall for the Arts”. This event has food, bounce houses, music, and lots of fun for the whole family! More information for this event can be found here!
Art created by OHS students will be auctioned off at this year’s “Fall for the Arts” tailgate.
To conclude a fantastic Homecoming week, the Homecoming Dance for Upper School students is from 8-11 p.m. at the Gainesville Woman’s Club Saturday, Oct. 19.