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Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Volume 61, Issue 1
ASB prepares for first Homecoming dance in five years Students, staff share preparations, hopes for Homecoming By Annie Guo and Veronica Zhao The Homecoming dance is taking place in the field house on Oct. 6, marking the return of an old tradition that many other schools partake in. Following the dance, Homecoming week features quad activities, a rally and parade on the last day, leadership adviser Jessica Kirby said. Due to low ticket sales for the dance in previous years, numerous students missed out on the chance to attend a significant high school event. In the past, only around 100 students of HHS’s student body of 2,300 attended the previous Homecoming dances, Kirby said. Although Homecoming week has always been a tradition at HHS, there are several notable differences in this year’s Homecoming, one being a new DJ for the dance, sophomore ASB social manager Evangeline Park said. “HHS student DJ Adi is playing the music at the dance,” Kirby said. “There will also be free food and games.”
Additionally, a new voting system was implemented, giving students the opportunity to vote for the Homecoming theme, Kirby said. “Homecoming is something that we ask students to do, but we never really give back,” Kirby said. “Having a voting system allows inclusivity in the student body. I feel like Leadership spends a lot of time asking, but we don’t spend a lot of time giving and allowing you all to participate.” Unlike previous years, there is no longer a carnival on the Friday of Homecoming week. This change was prompted due to the carnival and the football game taking place at the same time, Kirby said. “We want people to go to the Homecoming game, and if we put on something else, we’re worried that it will take away from the [game],” Kirby said. “A lot of people felt like they had to choose between one or the other.” Despite all of the changes being implemented this year, the tradition of creating floats is still going strong. Float parties started on Sept. 16, where students helped build quad decorations, Park said. “The Quad decks are a tradition that we have been doing at HHS for a long time,” Kirby said. “There’s usually a competition between the classes, and the quad deck gets graded by secret judges on campus.” Sophomore Annika Abraham said she is
excited that the Homecoming dance is returning this year. “I love that there’s a dance. I was disappointed with the carnival last year, especially when I heard my friends from other schools talking about their dances,” Abraham said, “I’m really excited that there’s a dance this year as opposed to a carnival.” Senior Maia Lee echoes the sentiment and said she is thrilled the dance will make a return in her last year at HHS. “I feel like the dances are generally pretty fun, and it’s exciting to get another dance,” Lee said. “I’m looking forward to [it] because the whole time I’ve been a student at HHS, this is our first Homecoming dance.” As the leadership class continues preparations, Park said the biggest obstacle is trying to find a balance between tradition and something new. Additionally, Kirby said an emphasis on increasing student involvement is a priority for ASB. “I always want students to feel like they can be involved in creating Homecoming. It’s not just a Leadership event, it’s a whole-school experience,” Kirby said. “Hopefully, we can get more participants than usual. When students see a Quad deck, I hope they can feel more connected than anything.”
October 6, 2023
Looking forward to HOCO week Spirit days Tuesday - Barbenheimer Wednesday - Rhyme without reason Thursday - California Dreamin’ class theme Friday - Green and white
First rally The Homecoming rally will take place during tutorial on Oct. 13. Watch performances, participate in games and see which class will win the most points.
HOCO Royalty Attend the rally on Oct. 13 to see who will be crowned Homecoming royalty. Two people are crowned as royalty out of a court of 10 seniors.
Parade The parade will start on Oct. 13 at 3:30 p.m. in the staff parking lot. The parade will march around the neighborhood with floats, marching band, the cheer team and more.
Football Game Watch varsity football take on The King’s Academy at 7 p.m. in the Mustang Stadium. Stay during halftime to see performances from the cheer team, marching band and Equestriettes. Photos by Evelyn Wang
Students attend a float party in the quad on Sept. 23 to help create Homecoming decorations.
Infographic by Annie Guo and Veronica Zhao
Accessible parking spaces added per state mandate Students, administration discuss new spaces in staff, student lot By Brian Ling and Jonathan Xue HHS recently replaced 13 regular parking spots with handicap ones in the student and staff parking lots, principal Greg Giglio said. These new parking spaces were created due to new renovation requirements on parking lot distribution, Giglio said, with the state ultimately making the final decision on where to add the parking spots. There was no choice on the school’s side about where the new spots would be placed, Giglio said.
Photo by Brian Ling
“We probably don’t have that many students or staff members [who] need [accessible parking spaces],” Giglio said. “We are still required by law to have [these parking spots].” To ensure accessible parking spots are not being misused, Giglio said the school can look up the parking passes and tell rule-breaking students to move their cars. Additionally, the accessible parking spots count as private property, so it is illegal to misuse them, Giglio said. “There have been people that have gotten ticketed in the past,” Giglio said. “It is kind of a self-police system, but the police can come in and [enforce these laws when required].”
See ‘Accessible parking spaces’ on Page 2
The new accessible parking spots were added just before the start of this school year, Giglio said. These spots can be found on the first row of the student lot. Follow us on social media
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