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Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni to celebrate school spirit.  With so many alumni coming back however, it makes us wonder what all has changed since they went to school. 10 years ago, Central’s homecoming looked very different. Although, there are some similarities and traditions that have stuck around many things have been taken away from Spirit Week, and many things have been added.

One thing that is the same about homecoming week is the pep rally. The pep rally gets all of the student body excited and ready for the homecoming game. The pep rally is where the different grades fight for the spirit stick to be theirs. The spirit stick only adds to the excitement and school spirit of the student body. The homecoming pep rally has stayed fairly similar over the years, despite it changing with the times. Homecoming royalty is still announced and paraded across the floor to be shown off to the entire school, the cheerleaders and dance team perform in the middle of the gym for all to see, and the spirit stick is won by the most worthy class-the seniors this year.

The pep rally is not the only way the school shows off their school spirit. The students of Central still continue to decorate the halls of which they walk in. Decorating the halls is tradition and only adds to the spirit of the students. Hanging lanterns and streamers, red, black, and white colored lights, what could be better than that?

Since the fall of 2012 homecoming week has become more exciting. This year alone there were many new additions to activities for homecoming spirit week. Anna Groth, 12, arranged a power puff football game for the students of Central High. All the proceeds from the event went to suicide awareness. The teams this year were the Seniors and the Freshman v. The Sophomores and Juniors. The school went all out for powder puff. Not only was there a student section cheering on the teams, but also parents there to support their daughters on the field. The boys of Central also dressed up and became the cheerleaders. This is the first year that powder puff has joined homecoming spirit week. Powder puff is a homecoming tradition at many schools across the country, and now it will hopefully stay a tradition at Central High School.

Homecoming 2022, also allowed for the introduction of a dunk tank. National Spanish Honor Society had a “dunk a teacher event” for the students of Central. They had arranged for eight teachers to each sit for 15 minutes in the dunk tank. The lineup spanned all the way from Spanish teachers to the counselor’s of Central. It was $5 for 3 balls and many teachers were soaked by the end. The dunk tank took place before the homecoming game before the tailgate. The event was overall successful for the club, and they plan on bringing it back next year to add to the list of activities for homecoming week.

The annual dodgeball tournament is a major tradition when it comes to homecoming week. It has been going on for the past 10 years and maybe even time before that. The dodgeball tournament allows for the students to play a completely different game and they go all out. This year hair was dyed, shirts were cut, and there was a lot of face paint. Dodgeball gets pretty heated between the students and the teachers and it’s shocking the tournament still occurs every year but it’s hard to break these long standing traditions.

Homecoming has changed so much over the past 10 years. With the changing times and minds of people homecoming week also continues to change. Despite there being long term traditions that stick around, the students continue to want to start and add more traditions. Will these long standing traditions such as the pep rally and dodgeball tournament stick around for another 10 years? And will these new traditions such as powder puff and the dunk tank stick around? Time will only tell what Central’s homecoming week will look like 10 years from now.