Homecoming Planning: Behind the Scenes

The annual Plainfield North High School  Homecoming event is a hit among students and staff, though there is plenty of planning and teamwork that goes into its yearly production. From Homecoming week themes, to powderpuff and pep rallies, there’s a lot of work to be done behind-the-scenes. This year, Homecoming is occurring on Sept. 19, and it is a team effort amongst student counsel board members, teacher sponsors, football games, and students.

 Homecoming is a large event to put on, and it involves a lot of preparation and planning amongst student counsel, or STUCO, and the teacher sponsors.  Ashley Hornig is an English teacher at PNHS and has become one of the sponsors of the STUCO this year. So far, she is finding a lot of joy in being a student sponsor, especially being able to watch the students grow. 

Hornig stated, “I really love leadership, I love students in leadership, I love seeing students get involved in things, I love to see them grow in different skills of leadership and communication and accountability.”

Additionally, budget can be a major topic of conversation, especially when it comes to planning. A large part of the funds provided are from last year’s Homecoming, along with the Parent Teacher Student Organization, or PTSO, here at PNHS through concessions. With decorations and themes around the school, the STUCO executive board deals with those ideas.

“Decorations planning is kind of just a lot of fun,” Hornig explained, “once you’ve picked a theme, you’re kind of able to dive deeper into what that looks like. I know the executive board is working on some really fun ideas for that.” 

Planning Homecoming is also a responsibility of the board members. These members are students throughout our school who have run for office, gotten elected and have started to plan and organize events like Homecoming. 

Vice President Izzy Lee is at the forefront of planning for Homecoming given her executive position in STUCO. She stated, “I do think it can be very stressful mixed with the amount of sorts and other things we do, but all in all, it’s a really joyful experience. I’ve always wanted to be a part of something bigger.”

Lee went on to add additional information about STUCO’s focus during and beyond Homecoming: “We try to focus on what the next thing is while slightly planning for future things. So we have already been planning for Halloween, but we are not going to focus on that right now. We are trying to get through the Homecoming stretch.

The team effort between Ms. Hornig and the board members do not go unnoticed .Both parties work hard to make Homecoming a valuable and memorable experience for all students attending PNHS. 

Lee stated, “Ms. Hornig is a great club representative, she always speaks our ideas into action, every time we put something forward she’ll tell us if she thinks it ‘s going to work or not.”

Homecoming is a group effort full of collaboration and ideas that flow to help make lasting memories for the students of PNHS. It is clear that the teachers and student members of STUCO put their best effort into making Homecoming a valuable and memorable experience for all involved. The behind-the-scenes planning is a team effort that continues making the tradition a memory for a lifetime.