From spirit week to the pep rally to the dance, Barstow students enjoyed a multitude of events during Homecoming week.
Like many schools, Barstow hosts an annual homecoming dance. Unlike other schools though, homecoming is celebrated much later in the year, in February, rather than September or October.
This is because Barstow does not have a football team. Instead of using the fall sports season to place the homecoming dance, Barstow uses the basketball season, culminating in a home basketball game and dance.
Because of its connection to basketball, Barstow’s homecoming is more similar to court-warming, a dance in the winter that many other schools put on. Other schools also have Sweetheart and WPA (Women Pay All) dances because of the dance’s proximity to Valentine’s Day.
For Barstow specifically, though, years of events and activities have ingrained a sense of tradition surrounding the event.
First, Pep Club organized a spirit week with themes loosely connected to the dance’s theme, Gatsby. The first day was Decades-themed, with seniors dressing as the 1920s, the juniors as the fifties, the sophomores as the sixties, and the freshmen as the eighties.
While many seniors dressed in 20s attire (special mention to Brett Gieras ‘23, who showed out in a beautiful pink flapper dress), many of the juniors did not really dress up. “I think we had the hardest decade, because nobody owns a poodle skirt,” says junior Lasya Maganti ‘24. The sophomores did not show out as much as the seniors, but many were still adorned in some variation of bell bottoms and tie dye.
Pep Club also decorated the hallways on the weekend before spirit week. Each of the grade’s corridors included decorations that corresponded to their decade.
The next day, students were told to dress like they were “Hitting the Slopes,” which was accomplished in a variety of ways. The most common was simply a beanie or other winter-themed accessory with Ugg boots. Junior Amara Patel ‘24, for example, wore a Vail, Colorado beanie with her hair in braids. Some other students, though, took the theme to the extreme, with Gieras showing up in bright pink snow pants and ski goggles.
Wednesday brought the fan-favorite “Wacky Wednesday” back from elementary school, leading to many high-schoolers dressed in swim-suit bottoms over their pants, asymmetric hairstyles, and neon colors.
Thursday, which was unfortunately canceled because of a surprise Snow Day (Yay!) was the ever-popular pajama day. Finally, on Friday, students and faculty showed out in their Chiefs gear, ready for Super Bowl Sunday.
At the end of the school day on Friday, students also attended the annual Homecoming pep rally.
First, students from grades 1-12 participated in scooter soccer
Junior Izzy Parr ‘24 explains that, “It was very hectic and it was stressful to be playing with little kids, but it was still fun. I’m sad that we lost though.”
Not all was bad for scooter soccer, though. The seniors, partnered with the even numbered grades, took their first win in the entirety of school competitions. This was only after taking three losses to the juniors at the Harvest Festival Frisbee Game, Powderpuff Game, and most recently, the Hungry Hungry Hippo Competition.
Their losing streak, however, did not end, with the senior faculty basketball game following scooter soccer. The faculty lineup was insane, with both the Head and Assistant Coach of the basketball team playing. Familiar faces like Mr. Thurman and Mr. Fox also played.
The game was over before it started, with Coach Goode dunking on multiple seniors, much to the joy of the student section. After quite a few long shots and senior fumbles, the game ended with a final score of 34-14 for the faculty.
Parr thinks that “the faculty should have taken out Coach Goode. It was ridiculous.” Maganti, though, “thought it was funny…It was pretty unfair because there were only two seniors who actually play basketball.”
Soon after, student captains from winter sports came down from the bleachers to talk about the state of their teams. Girls swim, boys basketball, cheerleading, and dance teams spoke about their success, all of which can be read on the B-line website.
Finally, the pep rally ended with the iconic “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y” battle cry, much more successful than it previously was after a beleaguered senior-led practice session.
After school, the varsity boys basketball team took to the court for the Homecoming basketball game. The student section donned their Barstow green and watched the team win by almost 40 points against University Academy. UA only had five people on their team, so really it felt kind of bad in the end.
At halftime, students were excited to see the big reveal of Homecoming King and Queen, who the student body voted on in the week prior. After attendants from each grade were announced, the nominated seniors walked down the carpet in pairs.
At the end of the night, siblings Mary and George Colombo ‘23 were crowned homecoming king and queen. Both play varsity on the tennis team, with Mary as captain. George also captains the boys soccer team, which had great athletic success this season. Mary is also senior class president, a position that she has held for most of her high school career.
Finally, students attended the annual Homecoming Dance at Meadowbrook Park Clubhouse. Upon arrival, students paid their $15 entry fee and made their way into the dance room, which STUCO decorated to fit the 1920s theme.
While Barstow has a much smaller student population, the smallness of the room made the party more fun. Many students danced together to their favorite songs, some of which included “Timber” by Ke$ha and Pitbull, and “family ties” by Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar.
Overall, the Homecoming Dance and its traditions held a lot of memorable moments for Barstow students. Be sure to check out B-line’s Homecoming photo essay and check back for more updates about sports and other activities around campus!
