History was made at Heritage High School last week at the school's inaugural Homecoming rally. The rally kicked off a weekend of festivities, including the crowning of the school's first Homecoming King and Queen and an array of performances, games and competitions. The first rally was attended by alumni as well as current students.
Cameron Curran and Amanda Sousa were heralded as Heritage's first Homecoming King and Queen in the Rose Ceremony. Curran and Sousa were the only candidates whose boxes contained roses, and were crowned to the roar of the audience.
It's overwhelming a great position to be in, said Sousa. It hasn't really hit me yet. Her counsel to future Homecoming queens: Make Heritage proud!
The other nominees for King and Queen were Alyssa Friedel, Erika Gamble, Skye Sala, Camila Villanueva, Garret Hanson, Dylan Hofflander and Ali Khan. All of them were appointed the members of the Royal Court. I feel special, but I would have been happy for whoever won, said Sousa. Curran agreed: I was pretty sure that I would be in the top three, but I was in (the competition) with my best friends, so I would have been happy if they had won.
The remainder of the rally featured an introduction of the fall sport teams, a number of performances by Heritage students and friendly competitions that related to the Beat the Pirates theme of the rally. The swashbuckling theme referred to the Homecoming football game the next day that pitted the Patriots against the Pittsburg Pirates.
We added different elements this year, said Leadership advisor Denise Corrado. We had the pep band play, the improv team perform, and the BSU (Black Student Union) and the Male Leaders even performed together. It was a colorful rally; we wanted as many people to get involved as possible.
Since Heritage is a relatively new school, finally being able to celebrate a Homecoming instead of a Housewarming stirred up school spirit and anticipation for the Homecoming activities among the student body. The school spirit has definitely increased since last year, said rally coordinator and Leadership student Krista Natali. Many more students are participating and getting excited.
According to Heritage Vice-Principal Dan Hanel, What's really funny is that I was here when the school first opened, and Homecoming seemed a long time in the future. Now that we're finally at the point when the seniors can come back, our cycle is complete.
For the returning alumni, coming back to their alma mater was a trip down memory lane. It's a lot of fun to come back and see the friends I used to see all the time, the ones I left behind, said Megan Head, an '08 graduate who returned for the Homecoming festivities.
Michael Waddington, the school's first valedictorian, expressed the same feelings. I love being back at the high school atmosphere, he said. You go away, say goodbye to everyone you've met, and it's cool to come back and see them. I dig it.
The traditions made at this year's Homecoming are sure to carry on throughout the years as more students graduate and return for the annual festivities. It's very exciting to be involved and to help establish the new traditions of Homecoming, said Natali. It is hard work, but worth it in the end.
It was a whole new experience, added rally emcee and Leadership student Zach Harris. It definitely makes me want to come back next year after I graduate.
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