Orcas High Schoolers Celebrate Homecoming Week

— by Cara Russell —

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It was a week devoted to school spirit, costumes, competitions, sports games, and of course the big dance, but you would never know it while driving to Orcas Island High School. On the foggy and quiet morning of Friday October 10th, a kid outside the elementary school raked the fallen leaves from the old oak tree up and around its trunk, and it felt like another mellow October day on Orcas.

However, once inside the walls of OIHS, the tone was different, for the student body and staff were body-and-soul engaged in a 100 year-old tradition — Homecoming! and in this small school every student is an original and appreciated member of the family, and the school welcomes the family home!

The celebrations started on Monday October 6, as students dressed up for Spirit Week theme days and walked through transformed hallways, each decorated as a different country, in keeping with this year’s Spirit Week theme of “world cultures.”
The winners of Spirit Week, chosen by the ASB Executives were:
• America Monday: Jay Zier
• Toga Tuesday: Wylie Kau
• World Wednesday: Melanie Flint
• Twin/Multiple Thursday: Jo Gudgell and Emily Nichols
• Spirit Friday: Hayden Simpson
• Overall Spirit Week winner: Luke Bronn
Class winners were:
• Hallways: Freshmen, Tokyo
• Lip Sync Performance: Seniors, Kenya
• Parade: Juniors, Brazil
• Overall total points: Juniors, Brazil

On Friday afternoon, the community was invited to the annual Pep Assembly that kick-started the Homecoming Weekend. Each class performed a lip sync at the assembly. Between performances, many group-unifying games were played, and at one point nearly everyone was on the gym floor in one long train.

The teachers and staff also treated all of those in attendance to a live performance of “When I’m Gone,” with black lights, mustaches, and rewritten lyrics for their students. The song ended, the last ukulele chord was strummed, the audience exploded with cheers of appreciation, and the entire gym leaped into a standing ovation.

When the Homecoming royalty was announced, a red carpet (paper) was rolled out, and the winners hugged and moonwalked their way to receive either their wooden sword or diminutive plastic tiara from their faculty advisors. In a new development this year, the senior class royalty award made a statement about gender roles by voting a female class member to be their Prince.
Homecoming Royalty:
• Freshmen — Prince: Leif Gustafson; Princess: Lexi Pence
• Sophomores — Prince: Luke Bronn; Princess: Devon Mann
• Juniors — Prince: Ray Doss; Princess: Claire Orser
• Seniors — Prince: Julianna Rose; Princess Cassidy Buehler
• Homecoming King and Queen: William Coe and Hannah Brunner-Gaydos

Then the Homecoming Parade made its route through town, where each class displayed their royalty on top of floats decorated with construction paper. Floats were driven by parents, some of whom, dressed as Vikings, were rowdier than the kids. One princess jumped from her chariot hatchback at the first moment the parade was over, making a dash for the ferry. “I’m getting my hair dyed pink and green for the dance!”

At 4 pm on the lower field, fans in blue peppered the hillside and cheered on the Viking Men’s soccer game. The final score was: Orcas 2, Cedar Park Christian 0. Orcas goals were scored by Wylie Kau and Skyler Gregg.

A tour of the school reconstruction project was a unique homecoming event this year. A small group gathered at 11:30 a.m. When Phase 1 is completed in December, the middle school will move into the former library building. Then Phase 2 will begin to convert the existing middle school and cafeteria into the new library, cafeteria and home ec building.

Following the tour, lunch was available on Dahl Field for the football game. The Athletics Booster Club sponsored a salmon BBQ fundraiser; Black Dog Farm, the Co-op, Maple Rock Farm, and Troller Point Fishery all contributed to the BBQ.

The game against the Friday Harbor Wolverines ended with a final score of 30-6, with Friday Harbor the victors. The Homecoming Dance was held in the High School Commons, with over 100 students in attendance.

High School Principal Kyle Freeman said,

“It was wonderful to see so many alumni, community members, parents and students at the Homecoming Game on Saturday. The Vikings fought hard against a strong Friday Harbor team and did not stop fighting to the very end with a touchdown in the 4th quarter with no time left on the clock. The OIHS commons was filled to capacity on Saturday night for the annual Homecoming Dance with over 100 OIHS students in attendance. The High School Leadership Class, ASB and Booster Club did an outstanding job making this a week filled with school and community pride, GO VIKINGS!”