–Behind the Scenes
In a school of about 1,200 students, more than 100 staff and thousands of fans, you can only imagine what it takes to bring all the loose ends together to create Homecoming Week. Yes, there is an advisor, and there are few who are not in awe at the energy, attention to detail and downright enthusiasm that teacher Carrie Wcislek possesses. She does a fantastic job, and she is surrounded by a supporting cast of 1st Sgt. Thomas, Sgt. Blessing, band director Travis Pennell and our class advisors, who motivated and stirred-up school spirit like they were in the kitchen with Rachel Ray. In these (we hope) post-COVID times, we can’t forget, either, our boosters for their gifts of time and treasure.
Homecoming traditions may look a little different but, one thing we really like, and we hope that you do, too, is the new format for the parade.
First, I have to tell you that the new format would not have happened without the support of the Stone Oak Country Club. They loaned us the 20 golf carts that were driven by specially selected mentors and ridden by the members of our 2022 homecoming court. All we had to do was figure out how to get them to and from Springfield High School. We thank our community liaison for her efforts to secure the loan, and her ingenuity and powers of persuasion (we hear cookies were offered) that resulted in alumni Terry Yoder and Mike Hampton stepping in to help get that job done. The route was set, and the hard work began again to rehearse all the elements, figure out the timing and address all the moving parts so fans could simply sit back and watch as the final traditions of homecoming week played out before their eyes.
For those not familiar with all that is involved, there are themes, daily activities, competitions for spirit points, assemblies during which each of the king and queen candidates address their peers, and afterward the entire student body is invited to vote for the top 2022 royalty. We even added the senior sunrise event on Friday morning. Did I mention there is even a competition for most spirited staff member? We do it up right–and they were crazybusy, exhausting and exhilarating several days. Ones that we are so glad can again be experienced by our students.
For the curious, this year’s overall winners were as follows: Spirit points winners went to the Class of 2025 (sophomores).
Crowned 2022 homecoming king was Collin Leasure and crowned 2022 homecoming queen was Analicia Gomez.
Staff spirit: special shoutsout to Mark Davidson, Scott Bachman, Ryan Machoukas and Austin Baker for “allowing their heads to be covered in shaving cream before becoming targets for students tossing cheese puffs.” The class with the most “adhered puffs” won the points.
