Julia del Mundo
Aragon recently held its Homecoming dance on Nov. 5 and Homecoming rally on Nov. 4.
The Homecoming rally was the first rally held indoors since the COVID-19 pandemic and took place in the North Gym. For the rest of the school year, major rallies including Winter Formal and Prom will be held indoors while other rallies will be in Center Court.
“I like to think of it as [we]’re having the best of both worlds,” said rally commission head and senior Seth Weinfeld. “We understand people who want to stay COVID safe, so if you want to wear a mask, that is fully your prerogative. We want to take a hybrid focus and make sure our community stays safe while still having lots of fun.”
At the rally, the gym was separated into four corners, one for each grade, decorated in their respective class colors. There was also a special schedule, in which Flex Time was substituted for the rally. Those who chose not to attend the rally spent the period in the South Gym.
“The senior class is the only class who [had] actually seen an indoor rally,” said leadership teacher Heather Stretch. “So [they knew] it [feels] completely different from [an] outdoor rally. It’s really electric and exciting and there’s a lot of school spirit.”
“I loved how the school community came together during the rally. It was a good way to de-stress and take some time to enjoy what was going on at our school”
The rally began with a performance from the sideline cheer team, followed by a basketball game with players from each grade, which the seniors won with a basket from the half court line. The football team then performed a group dance, and the Aragon staff partnered with dance team members to perform a dance to Low by Flo Rida. The dance team then followed with their own group performance.
The junior and senior classes brought out their mascots, Beth Yeung donning a green dinosaur for the seniors and Cameron Sears in a purple inflatable for the juniors. At the end of the rally, leadership filmed a clip for this year’s Lip Dub, and each class competed for the Don baton with a final song anthem competition.
“This was my first time seeing an indoor rally and it was really exciting,” said sophomore Shreya Gandhi. “I loved how the school community came together during the rally. It was a good way to de-stress and take some time to enjoy what was going on at our school.”
The day after the rally, the Homecoming dance was held in the North and South gyms. In previous years, the dance was held at the College of San Mateo. However, as the venue recently implemented a maximum capacity of 500 people, Aragon was no longer able to accommodate the demand for tickets; 900 people attended Homecoming in 2021, and over a thousand purchased tickets this year. As to not turn away students and guests who wished to attend, the leadership dance commission decided to keep the Homecoming dance at home.
This year’s theme for the Homecoming dance was “A Night in Space,” with decorations based on outer space. The gym was filled with space themed balloons, and projectors on the side lit the dark room along with lanterns hanging from above.
“Our goal [was] to make it not look like the gym. [We hope] all those decorations [emphasized] that”
“Our goal [was] to make it not look like the gym,” said dance commission head and senior Cerise Curtis. “[We hope] all those decorations [emphasized] that.”
On Nov. 2, Aragon administration announced that Homecoming ticket sales had surpassed the capacity of the gym, halting ticket sales two days before the original final day to buy tickets. With almost a thousand tickets sold, leadership created a waitlist three days before the dance.
“It was well thought-out to take precautions on the capacity, not only because of the exposure of COVID, but also since crowding [and] shoving can be a huge issue at dances,” said senior Madeline Dang. “Many schools and events could just keep selling tickets to get more money, but it seems that Aragon values safety more, which is nice to see.”
While the North Gym was mainly used for dancing, the dance commission set up air hockey, cornhole, a flipbook photobooth station and additional seating in the South Gym. While the dance was centered in the gyms, the hallway outside of the gyms was used for tables and the snack shack which provided limited snacks and Tpumps drinks.
“I think it was pretty fun for my last ever Homecoming,” Dang said. “I don’t really dance that much, so I was more on the outer circle of the crowd enjoying watching everyone have fun. They brought back the flipbook photo booth from Prom which I was excited about too.”
“I personally didn’t like the DJ and the music’s whole setup, especially the fact that the lights were constantly turned off and on”
During the dance, staff walked through the crowd in the North Gym and flashed the lights when crowds were getting too condensed. Lights were turned on multiple times and frustrations were high.
“I personally didn’t like the DJ and the music’s whole setup, especially the fact that the lights were constantly turned off and on,” Gandhi said. “I also think that something that could have been better was the food and the water supply.“
Now, leadership is preparing for its next event, the Winter Formal.
