The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Homecoming packed with tradition
Local school districts hold spirit contests, parades, play football
By Ed Patino, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: September 18, 2008
People driving around Washtenaw County will notice an increase in school and town spirit.
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The high school Homecoming season is kicking into full gear. Beginning next week in Saline and Augusta Township, and running through Oct. 18 in Manchester, Chelsea and Milan, students in area schools are preparing for Homecoming dances, football games and court nominations.
Many have similar activities and traditions that create a festive atmosphere, such as Spirit Week, pep rallies and a dance. Others are starting new traditions, including Powder Puff football games in Manchester and Saline.
In each district, Homecoming Week is not just a school activity, but a community event. Parades wind through town, and local businesses put displays in their windows to show school spirit.
Though the schools celebrate Homecoming their own special way, all of them share one trait. Each district's events are thought up and coordinated mainly by the students.
"There is a lot of work that goes into Homecoming, and the students put it together," said Kristin Glatz, Student Council adviser at Saline High School. "Homecoming is really a product of the ideas and work of the students."
Manchester: Dutch Spirit
This year's Homecoming activities at Manchester High School take place Oct. 13 through 18. Throughout the week, students will participate in Spirit Week, featuring many activities planned by members of the Student Council.
Each day during Spirit Week will feature a fun theme. While the themes haven't been finalized yet, some of the themes from last year's event were Class Color Day, where students in each class wore a designated school color, and the traditional Dutch Day, where students and faculty wear maroon and gold.
The class that displays the most spirit with participation in the events throughout the week will earn the prestigious Spirit Jug.
"The Student Council throws around ideas for activities and votes for them," Jennifer Payeur, Student Council adviser at Manchester High School said. "There are many activities throughout the week, and the students do most of the work."
One of the newer Homecoming activities takes place Oct. 15 with Powder Puff football. Girls from the senior class will play girls from the junior class.
"We're trying to make the Powder Puff game a big deal by inviting parents and the community to attend," Payeur said. "It will be $1 to get in, with the proceeds going to charity."
The week continues on Friday with the pep assembly, which is coordinated by the Manchester cheerleaders. One of the highlights of the rally is the tug-of-war competition. The freshmen will face the sophomores, followed by the juniors against the seniors. The winners will then face each other.
A parade will take place in town later that day and lead up to the varsity football game between the Flying Dutchmen and the East Jackson Trojans.
"Manchester is super supportive of the school and loves the football team," Payeur said.
Throughout the week, each class will construct a wooden poster centering on the theme of Homecoming Week. Each board will be judged at halftime of the football game.
Homecoming concludes Oct. 18 with a dance at the school.
Chelsea: Sweet Charity
One of the unique traditions at Chelsea High School during Homecoming Week is its involvement with charity work. Each year, the Student Council selects a charity to support during its Spirit Week. This year, Chelsea is raising money for Pennies for Patients at Chelsea Community Hospital.
In past years, Chelsea High School has raised money for various charities in and out of Chelsea. During the 2005 Homecoming Week, the school raised money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"We look for charities in the community, but they don't have to be specifically tied to the community," Chelsea High School Student Council adviser Laura Lutz said.
Like Manchester, Homecoming Week is scheduled Oct. 13 through 18 and features many Spirit Week events. Students will participate in dress-up days such as Pajama Day, Class Color Day, Blue and Gold Friday and other themes. Other class competitions, including a marshmallow catch, take place at lunch throughout the week.
The class with the most participation wins the Spirit Jug, which is presented during the school's Friday pep rally.
Lutz said ideas for activities come from members of the Student Council. Once the events are determined, committees are assigned to each.
"We have the standard traditions of Spirit Week and the varsity football game," Lutz said. "People make suggestions for activities. There's a committee for the dance, for the pep rally and the games."
Elections for the Homecoming queen take place on Friday, with the coronation announced at the football game.
Along with the charity work, students find other ways to get the community involved.
"The football team and parents have signs for Homecoming and take them to local businesses." Lutz said. "Homecoming is a good tradition, and we get a lot of participation from the kids and teachers. It's something that brings the school together."
Chelsea will hold its Homecoming dance Oct. 18.
Dexter: Community Involvement
When Homecoming Week arrives at Dexter High School, school spirit can be felt throughout the town.
"With Dexter being a small town, everyone comes out for the football game," Deb Marsh, Dexter's senior class adviser said. "It's really a whole-town event."
Members of the Student Council, the Leadership Class and class advisers work together on the production of the Homecoming activities. The school's Spirit Week, which takes place Oct. 6 through 11, features many dress-up days, including Hat Day, Team Day, Pajama Day, and Maroon and Gold Day.
Each class builds a float throughout the week based on the theme for Homecoming. The theme for this year's event is board games.
"The Student Council votes for the theme in the spring of the previous school year," Marsh said. "It's nice to go into the year with an idea of what we're doing."
The Homecoming parade is one of the highlight of the week and takes place Friday leading up to the football game. It begins at the high school and then travels into downtown Dexter before heading back to the school. The class floats, Homecoming court and athletic teams ride in the parade. The Class of 1978 will also have a 30-year reunion float in this year's parade.
Local businesses also will display their spirit in a store window competition. In addition, spirit will be shown in the form of signs on street lamps.
"The idea was to involve Main Street businesses and excite the whole town," Marsh said. "We give ideas to the businesses and the middle school. The elementary school is planning on having a Spirit Week at the same time as ours."
Unlike most schools in the area, Dexter crowns four Homecoming queens a year. Each class has its own queen and her court.
"The bigger focus this year is making it a community event and getting the town more involved," Marsh said.
Dexter's Homecoming football game is scheduled for Oct. 10 against Tecumseh, and the dance is set Oct. 11 at the high school.
Milan: Big Red Pride
According to Milan High School Student Council adviser Sue Kanitz, ideas for Homecoming themes activities go through a multi-step voting process.
"We did some brainstorming at our first meeting and came up with about 20 different ideas," Kanitz said. "They're then put up on a board and the kids can promote their idea. They go through rounds of voting until we whittle down to five."
Superheroes was voted as this year's Homecoming theme. Each class will build a float based on their favorite superheroes throughout the week and display them during the Homecoming parade and football game.
"Float building occupies a lot of our time during Homecoming Week," Kanitz said.
Milan's Spirit Week takes place Oct. 13 through 18. Like its fellow Washtenaw County districts, Milan's homecoming features several dress-up days for students during the week. Themes for those include Hoodie Day (Monday), Concert T-shirt Day (Tuesday), Class Color Day (Wednesday), Superhero Day (Thursday) and Red and Black Day (Friday).
A pep assembly takes place Friday near the end of the school day. It will feature one of Milan's Homecoming traditions, the tug-of-war tournament. Freshmen take on sophomores and juniors face seniors, with the winners facing each other. The winner of the second round then will have a tug-of-war against the Milan teachers and staff.
Milan's Homecoming parade, scheduled for Oct. 17, gets the entire community involved. Along with the class floats, Homecoming court and sports teams, Milan's mayor rides in the event.
"The parade is always a big draw," Kanitz said. "We also have organizations in town that join in the parade."
The Milan varsity football team will play Riverview after the parade, and the Homecoming queen is crowned at halftime. The dance caps off the week Oct. 18 at the high school.
Saline: Old and New Traditions
The earliest of the area homecomings takes place in Saline. Festivities begin Sunday and lead up to the football game Sept. 26 and the dance the next night.
One of the new Homecoming traditions is the Powder Puff Football Tournament. The freshmen play the juniors and the sophomores take on the seniors, with the winners meeting in the championship game. Admission is $3 and will be donated to various charities. Other proceeds from concessions will go toward Saline High School organizations.
The event, which takes place 5 p.m. Sunday, is in its second year.
"We used to have a bonfire, but decided not to do that anymore," Kristin Glatz, Saline High School Student Council adviser said. "We replaced that with the Powder Puff football."
Boys will participate in an old Saline tradition called "Mr. Pretty Legs." Photos are taken of upperclassmen's legs, and students can vote for their favorites by putting money in the respective jars. The winner gets to be the escort for the Homecoming queen.
During Spirit Week Sept. 22 through 27, the classes compete in various activities, including dress-up days to earn points toward the Spirit Trophy. Float building, the pep assembly and the Homecoming parade also highlight the week.
Each class also gets T-shirts made for their respective classes.
"Each shirt has the class slogan on them and the kids wear them throughout the week," Glatz said. "Most of the activities have been around for a long time."
Most of the events are run by the Student Council and their advisers. This year, the administrators are in charge of organizing the halftime show at the football game.
"The students do most of the work," Glatz said. "The Student Council and their committees are in charge of each event during Spirit Week."
Outside organizations also get involved. The Saline Area Chamber of Commerce judges the class floats, and the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America are in charge of the Homecoming court elections.
"We don't reach out that much, but we like to get the town involved," Glatz said. "People are usually excited about the fall, and homecoming is a big deal."
The Saline Hornets face the Tecumseh Indians in the Homecoming football game Sept. 26. The dance takes place at the high school Sept. 27.
Ypsilanti: Team Support
For Robin Mata, Student Council sponsor at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School, Homecoming week is one of the busiest, yet exciting times of the year.
"It's always chaotic, but we always manage to get the job done," she said.
The Homecoming dance takes place Sept. 27, and many spirit activities during the week lead up to it.
Lincoln's Spirit Week features several themed days like Multiplicity/Super Hero Day (Monday), '70s Day (Tuesday), Wacky Wednesday, Class Accessory Day (Thursday) and Blue and Gray Day (Friday).
"With Accessory Day, one class can wear sunglasses and another wear ties and hats," Mata said.
The pep assembly on Sept. 26 showcases Lincoln traditions such as the drum line, introduction of all the fall sports teams and class cheer. It also features competitions between classes such as a balloon-popping event, in which students try and pop the balloons of the opposing classes until only their class color remains.
The tug-of-war tournament is another traditional event.
"We had lots of leeway this year, so we looked up some events online," Mata said. "We have relay, toilet-paper the teacher and the balloons."
The Homecoming parade follows the rally. Many groups from around the Ypsilanti community participate, including Scouts. A local day care center will hold a mini-parade during the high school event.
"People from anywhere are invited to participate in the parade," Mata said. "We've had over 50 groups in the parade before."
Lincoln takes on Ann Arbor Huron in its Homecoming football game Sept. 26. The dance is the following night at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School.
Like the rest of the area schools, the Homecoming events are mostly student-run.
"The Student Council is the core group, and I'm the sponsor this year," Mata said.
Ed Patino is a staff writer for Heritage Newspapers. He can be reached at 1-734-428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
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