Student Council plans 50th anniversary homecoming
Homecoming banner made by StuCo
September 27, 2022
RBHS homecoming will be held the night of Oct. 15 in the Main Gymnasium, following the home varsity football game Oct. 14. Student Council (StuCo) members and StuCo President Paige Sells organized the dance after weeks of preparation.
StuCo held the first meeting regarding homecoming in September, lasting three hours to decide on each spirit day, the dance’s overall theme, how homecoming court would be run and other specifics. Sells and three other officers are in charge of the three committees – Publicity and Production, Dance Activities, and Quality Improvement – that work together to plan homecoming.
“My favorite part is making sure that me and the people I want to represent are listened to,” Sells said. “I really enjoy knowing that I’ve done everything I can to make sure that everyone within the student body has a say one way or another.”
Meetings and discussions about homecoming are often student-led, with sponsor Carrie Schauwecker providing assistance when needed. In times of disagreement, StuCo decides through Google forms or voting to make sure everyone gets something they want, collaborating to create an overarching idea.
“We stay respectful of everyone and listen to differing opinions,” Schauwecker said. “Normally, we just have a vote.”
StuCo decided on each day’s theme of spirit week, which will be Oct. 11 through Oct. 14. The week will have four different themes each day – Lazy Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, Throwback Thursday and Green and Gold day on Friday. StuCo also plans to have a gold-themed dance based around RBHS’ 50th Anniversary celebration.
Homecoming will have multiple photo opportunities for students, decorated with streamers, glitter and a gold balloon arch. Students will have the chance to suggest playlists and songs on a Google form sent out by StuCo. The council will go through and make sure the songs are school appropriate, add some of their own and put them into one large playlist which the new DJ will be playing. Senior Kyla Hickox, Student Council Director of Communications, hopes that students will enjoy the music and new DJ and is excited about the songs StuCo picked out.
“I think the music would be amazing if the DJ followed the collaborative playlist the council makes,” Hickox said. “[There’s] a lot of current music, throwbacks and some niche songs we find funny for a crowd.”
Sells expects this year’s homecoming dance to be a big hit among students this year, as there is less to factor because of COVID-19. She explained how when it comes to setting up the dance, StuCo is all hands on deck in the planning process, hoping to put together a great dance to increase school spirit and involvement. However, Sells touched on how planning one of the biggest events of the year is not easy, as it comes with a great deal of responsibility and pressure to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be. Though RBHS had the most attended school dance in CPS history last year, Sells hopes students have an even better experience at this year’s homecoming.
“It’s super cool to know that you’ve planned an event that so many students attend and enjoy,” Sells said. “But sometimes it’s pretty nerve wracking, because if students give their feedback, you hope that they have such good things to say. But it’s nice to hear their critiques too, because that way we can always continue to improve.”
StuCo also planned how they would be electing homecoming court in their meeting. It begins with open nominations, and anyone who receives three nominations moves on to the next round and is put on a large list with roughly 40 to 60 candidates. The next voting round goes out to seniors only, who narrow it down to the top 10. From there, it reopens to the entire student body, who vote for the winner. Candidates often have some sort of fundraiser to raise money for the charity of their choice to try to get more student involvement and are highly encouraged to participate in spirit days and games.
“Having them [candidates] in full theme Bruin gear and participating in some sort of game made it so you could kind of see what they’re like,” Sells said. “[You can] get a taste for what they have going on so you know which candidate you want to vote for.”
Sells hopes students enjoy the dance this year, as she touched on StuCo’s attention to detail that went into putting it together. Between spirit week, homecoming and homecoming court, many events have been planned that will give RBHS the chance to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary.
“[I] hope that [students] have such good things to say and that they have such a fun time at the different events [we] plan,” Sells said. “And that the student body is getting the most out of it that they can.”
Are you excited for homecoming this year? Let us know in the comments below.
