Homecoming seems to appear suddenly, and just as suddenly, disappear. But what happens behind the scenes? Volunteers, Student Council Association (SCA) officers, and sponsors share their process.

The very lengthy planning begins before the end of the summer. SCA officers start selecting possible theme options a few weeks before the first day of school in order to allow voting in a timely manner. The first planning meeting for Homecoming 2025 occurred on August 6th.

Once the school year begins, the selected theme options are sent out to the general student body to be voted on. Sophomore Lucy Wagner believes that allowing students to vote for the theme is a good idea.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Wagner said. This sentiment is carried by many other students, as it allows the school as a whole to be involved in the process.

After the theme is finalized, the real planning begins. SCA officers go on a hunt for decorations. The sponsors place orders for all the needed items. While they wait for items to arrive, they begin planning the pep rally, tailgate, and spirit days.

The extremely hectic week of homecoming involves days of setup with the help of many volunteers. This year they spent 12 hours decorating on Oct. 2-4. Junior Hart Miller believes that his volunteering was a very beneficial experience.

“I could help out the school while also talking to people,” said Miller. “I have a deeper appreciation for homecoming, like the work behind it.”

The final step is cleaning up; while most attendees head home or to after parties, SCA officers and volunteers stay after homecoming has concluded to clean up the decorations and prepare the school for Monday.

Homecoming takes a lot more preparation, and involves more people than many people may think, but it seems to pay off. Freshman Jeremiah Jones expressed he had a very positive experience.

“I liked the feel, the songs, and definitely the crowd,” Jones said.

Junior Maddox Jackson also thoroughly enjoyed the event, even commenting on the decorations.

“It was good,” Jackson said, “They [the decorations] were beautiful.” Freshman Ali Davidson feels the same way.

“Everybody was just hype, it was cool,” said Davidson. “The environment was very open.”

Overall, students feel that homecoming 2025 was a great success thanks to the dedication of our SCA officers, sponsors, and volunteers!