‘Twas the night before homecoming, when all through the Fort
every student was stirring, even the homecoming court.
The costumes were chosen with extreme care,
in hope that Worden would approve of what they desired to wear.
Monday morning students poured into All Saints’ Episcopal School in their time period attire. Seniors dressed up in anything and everything Egyptian. Cleopatras were everywhere and, if one was lucky, they saw James Barnett ’16 dressed up as sand. Juniors came to school straight out of bed wrapped in bed sheets as togas for Greco-Roman attire. And, of course, All Saints’ had to remember the Stone Age by filling the hallways with Sophomore dresses up with bones in their hair and clubs in their hands. (I didn’t know the Flintstone family was that big!) The freshman costumes were certainly the most creative as they became the top of the food chain for a day: dinosaurs. One student thought outside the box by dressing up as Mike Wazowski from Monsters Ink. Monsters and dinosaurs, same thing right?
Taylor Simpson ’16, Jessica Roff ’16, Dresden Sutherland ’16, and Abbi Freeman ’18
Tuesday was the day of the decades. Freshmen channeled their inner Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta by sporting 50s attire. Students felt like they were in a scene out of Great Gatsby as the sophomores strutted into school remembering the roaring 20s. Running pants and neon sweat bands were in an abundance as the juniors looked ready to hit the gym in their 80s wardrobe. If one were to walk through school and somehow miss the freshmen through juniors, they would definitely not miss the seniors! They were decked out in 60s attire; go-go boots and tie-dye filled the halls. One of the Australian exchange students, Mary McCorry, rocked a tie-dye bucket hat and green tutu all day!
Wednesday was probably the students favorite day as class wasn’t in session for parent-teacher conferences. After a relaxing day off, the entire upper school met up at Benbrook Stables for the school homecoming bonfire. Burgers were served while everyone in attendance mixed and mingled. The choir sang for the crowd right before senior athletes and performing-arts students were recognized for their achievements. To end the night, the bonfire was lit (by hundreds of Christmas lights).
Friday was a day full of spirit for the Saints. The hallways were filled with blue and white; all the girls who had been asked by a football player wore the Saints’ away jerseys. As soon as anyone walked into school, they could hear the bells ringing on the abundance of mums. Following tradition, the senior mums covered the girl’s chests in solid white and silver, while the rest of the female students had navy incorporated into their mums. All the students were looking forward to 2:15 p.m. because that meant school was out early and it was time for the pep rally. When the time came, the students flocked to the gym to get the best seat in the stands; the lower and middle school came for the rally as well! Greg Nowlin, a math and science teacher at All Saints’, kicked off the event by announcing the 32 homecoming court nominees from the upper school. From there, the captains spoke about their upcoming games, the lower school won the spirit stick thanks to the high pitched screams (well played lower school, well played!), and a few families rivaled during the traditional rally game. Two of the best moments of the rally were when the varsity cheer squad and the seniors took to the floor.
”[They} started working on the homecoming routine in the summer, and the hardest part for them to get down were the stunts because we were trying to figure out new cool ones they had never done before,” Varsity cheerleader, Sarah Grace Siratt ‘16, said.
Just as Nowlin began saying goodbye to everyone in attendance, music started and seniors jumped from the stands. It was time for the senior traditional “flash mob!” The seniors danced to classics such as “Circle of Life,” “Good Day,” “Bye, Bye, Bye,”and “We’re All in This Together.” Jernee Goods ’16 brought the house down during her solo dance to “Lipgloss.”
Friday night lights was one to remember as the Saints fought the Dutch (Holland Hall) for a spot in the SPC playoffs in a torrential downpour. The stands were packed with umbrellas since All Saints’ supporters were not about to miss the homecoming game. A few alumni, for example Jonathan Song and Tatum Nowlin, even braved the weather to come back for the big game. The first half turned out to not be too much of a struggle as the Saints’ shut out the Dutch 19-0. Instead of heading to the locker room at half, the players joined the fans in watching the homecoming court take to the track for the “crowning ceremony.” A prince and princess were chosen from every year in addition to the king and queen who were chosen out of the senior class. The 2015 Homecoming King was Mr. Floyd Douglas ’16 and the 2015 Homecoming Queen was Miss Maddie Bailey ’16. After the crowning, it was time to get back to business. The Saints took the field for the 3rd quarter just in time for a lightning delay to stop the clock. Players and fans ran to the gym to wait out the almost two-hour delay. Long-story short, the game concluded at the end of the 3rd quarter due to another delay and, ultimately, cancelled.
“I’m glad the game took place because it was my last homecoming game; however, I felt is was a good idea to call the game as there wasn’t much more Holland Hall could do with the 12 minutes they would’ve had left to play,” Colin Reilly ‘16 said.
The Saints held on to the shut out by winning 33-0.
Saturday was the big finale of homecoming week: The dance. Many girls spent the day getting pampered. From nails to hair to makeup, every girl wanted to look their absolute best for the night. Around 5:30 p.m. dates began showing up at the young ladies houses. The bouquets of flowers and boutineers were exchanged while excited parents snapped way too many photos. Soon the pairs were on their way to their class dinner parties. Group photos were taken, and dinner was served. At the end of dinner, freshmen and sophomores boarded the provided buses to make their way to the Cendera Center (where the homecoming dance was held), while the juniors and seniors made their way in their individual vehicles. Upon arrival, Dean of Students, Wallace Worden, was waiting at the door to greet all the students. If the ladies were in line at the right time, Worden would allow them to wear his coat while they waited to enter the building. The consensus of the students was that this was the best dance yet.
“I actually had a ridiculous amount of fun at homecoming, and wish we had something like it in Australia,” Mary McCorry, one of the Australian exchange students from Barker College, said.
Alumna Sydney Spear was the DJ for the event, so she knew what the students would want to jam out to because she has been in their shoes before. Students enjoyed how much space there was to dance and being able to walk out to the foyer to catch their breath. Also, those who were not interested in busting a move, were able to watch the Utah vs. USC and Washington vs. Stanford football games on the far side of the foyer.
Noemi Gallegos ’18, Kaitlyn Klvac ’18, Sarah Staffel ’18, Mary McCorry, Brooke Krasowski’18, Victoria Rosinia ’18, and Kate Ward ’18
All Saints’ Homecoming 2015 was one to remember for the students. From dress-up days to a rainy game, the week turned out to be a pretty special one. All Saints’ now has a tremendous amount of pressure on them to make sure the 2016 Homecoming lives up to the success of 2015.
