Homecoming. 

What first comes to mind is the Friday night game or the dance the following day, a chance for students to have a break from school and spend time with friends. Not many take the chance to think about the traditions that come with homecoming and just how valuable they really are to Kennedy’s students.

The homecoming parade has been a standard since Kennedys’ opening in 1967. Various teams and clubs decorate floats and perform chants while handing out candy to the crowd along Wenig to celebrate school spirit. Kennedy alumni attend to recognize future generations and see just how far their school has come.

“It’s something fun to do to boost spirit and morale. It gives staff and students a break from going to class and gives those the opportunity to be included,” Kennedy teacher Joseph Benedict said.

As well as the parade, Kennedy dedicates the week leading up to the homecoming game as “Spirit Week.” Various themes are assigned each day of the week for students and staff to dress out in. It brings peers together as they try to best represent the themes and gives everyone a chance to feel included.

“We try to come up with ideas that get a lot of people pumped up for all of the spirit week and homecoming activities,” senior Lilly Marchbanks, a member of the student council, said. “Our goal is getting students interested in the community here at Kennedy.”

Homecoming is something that brings together students from around the school. Student Government and Council take careful consideration in decorations and music selection at the dance, as well as determining spirit week’s ideas. 

Outsiders to Kennedy may not realize the significance of its homecoming traditions. How the parades allow students to acknowledge each other, how spirit week lets students feel included and lifts up the teams on the fields and courts while the student sections create a community.

Homecoming isn’t just about who you’re going to the dance with or how our team did at the game, but about the sense of togetherness, it provides for Kennedy students as we kick off the year.

“It celebrates us as a school, it’s bringing back the alumni from previous years and generations, it’s a way not only to bring those not only directly at Kennedy, but families, the neighborhood,” Athletic Director Shawn Thomsen said. “It’s a way to celebrate who we are as a school.”