While the fall usually means back to school, cooler temperatures and shorter days, to most high school students across the state it also means one important thing: homecoming season.
Dating back to the early 1900s, the term “homecoming” refers to the alumni of schools and universities returning home for a season game or for the football team returning home after playing schools further away. Just who started homecoming is still largely contested with the universities of Baylor, Illinois and Missouri claiming to have been the first ones.
One thing for sure, Dallas ISD loves homecoming and all the activities it brings. From expertly decorated mums to the homecoming queen’s magnificent crown, students look forward to carrying on the traditions leading up to the much-anticipated home game.
“In the past 18 years that I’ve taught high school, homecoming has always been the event that ties the school together,” said Cathleen Cadigan, teacher and homecoming coordinator for Thomas Jefferson High School. “Through the years I’ve seen the mums get bigger and the cheerleading routines change, but the spirit of homecoming excitement always stays the same.”
While it’s known that almost every school has a homecoming game, pep rally, spirit week, homecoming court, and a school dance, many schools have traditions that are unique to them. This year, for example, Bryan Adams High School conducted a grade level hall-decorating contest after its annual parade; Lincoln High School’s spirit week will include a “Pink Out Day” during which everyone will don pink to support breast cancer awareness; and W.W. Samuell High School is inviting alumni to attend the homecoming game wearing blue and gold shirts to “paint” the stadium with Spartan pride.
“I love homecoming season,” said Nancy, a student on the Thomas Jefferson homecoming planning committee. “It makes you feel proud to be at the school that you are at.”
With the spirit season in full swing, we encourage all students and staff to share their homecoming season photos, videos and traditions to news@dallasisd.org or on social media with #dallasisdhomecoming.
