With COVID-19 still actively present in the country, various high school events have been canceled to limit exposure to the virus, including Homecoming week.
Homecoming provides not only students but the entire community a chance to come together and show their school spirit. The week of Homecoming consists of various spirit days, Powderpuff, a pep rally, a parade, a football game, and a dance. Principal Dr. Emily McCown said that this is an important week for all schools.
“Homecoming is a chance for us to celebrate both past, current, and future Summit students. We really try to make this a community event and celebration by including our elementary and middle schools as well as welcoming back our alumni,” McCown said. “It is a very important week in any high school community.”
Homecoming events were scheduled to be the week of Sept. 28; yet, with the transition to virtual learning, senior Lauren Perone said it came as no surprise that this event, which consists of large groups of people coming together, was cancelled.
“I was very upset upon hearing this news because it is always something you look forward to as you start the new year; however, I was not super shocked that it would not be happening,” Perone said.
While this is another reminder that the ‘normal’ high school environment is waning, McCown said that she does not consider this a complete cancellation of Homecoming but, rather, a postponement of some of the traditional Homecoming events.
“This is such a hard time for our students, and this is yet another reminder that we are not living in our normal high school environment. I prefer to think of this as a postponement of Homecoming and not a cancellation,” McCown said. “I’m sure the realization that we cannot have the events as we were hoping in early October is disappointing, but I am very hopeful we will still be able to have a ‘Homecoming’ at some point this year.”
In the meantime, the Student Council (STUCO) is meeting virtually and thinking of ideas to keep school pride going. As President of STUCO, Perone said there are other things they can do, such as host a virtual spirit week, to show school spirit.
“We have a few meetings set up to see if anyone on the council has any ideas of any virtual ways we can still try and get everyone involved. While there may not be a dance, we can still do things such as a virtual spirit week to show school spirit from home,” Perone said.
Even though the community is unable to come together during this time to showcase love for the school, McCown said that she believes upon returning, there will be a greater appreciation for events such as Homecoming.
“I think when we return to some sort of normalcy and in-person school, there will be an appreciation for things that may have been dwindling in the past,” McCown said. “There is going to be a great energy in our school that I am really looking forward to.”