Homecoming Jump-Starts Student Council for Year
Considering how early in the new school year it was held, this fall’s homecoming festivities served as a successful jump-start for Huntington High School’s student council program.
School-wide student government officers and leaders in class-level organizations were all pleased with how the big weekend turned out. The teenagers believe the energy and excitement displayed by every grade will continue on into other activities and student council initiatives.
The next big student council activity will be the Safe Halloween program on Thursday, October 31 from 4-6 p.m. Open to any Huntington School District student from pre-school age through sixth grade, it provides youngsters with an opportunity to come to the high school dressed in costume and to participate in Halloween related fun activities and games.
This year’s homecoming played out over a picture-perfect weekend. “Homecoming went very well, starting with the pep rally,” said Zachary Burden, who serves as the senior class president. “In past years it seemed as if spirit at the pep rally was falling, but this year turned it around and kept things exciting and fun. It was started off by a beautiful rendition of The Star Spangled Banner by the chamber choir. Probably one of my favorite moments of the pep rally was when the Special Olympics floor hockey team came out and everyone rose and gave a standing ovation. It was beautiful to see the whole school come together just to give those amazing kids the recognition and happiness they deserve, because they are all so great.”
Mr. Burden said the Ready Step team and the Highsteppers competitive dance squad were both “amazing” at the pep rally, as was the marching band and color guard. He enjoyed watching each of the athletic teams introduce themselves to the crowd through dance or comedic routines.
“The soccer team always puts on a good show that gets everyone hyped,” Mr. Burden said. “This year was very fun, too, with people appearing out of bags, dancing around the gym and bringing out TJ Becker, the German exchange student on the team, which also got a rise out of everyone. Then of course, the football team came out very triumphantly and got people excited for the weekend.”
Huge Turnout at Float Night
Float Night saw hundreds of high school students come to the school and pitch in to build their grade level float. “People don’t realize how much work actually goes into the homecoming parade before float night,” Mr. Burden said. “It really is a lot of work. Everyone in student government gets their float paper for their grade towards the end of the summer and right after that starts to have float parties all the time to make flowers and actually construct the float. There are weeks of talking about homecoming weekend during student government meetings and people need to recognize the hard work that went into all the floats.”
The 2013/14 student officers include:
Student Council: Alex Castillo (president), Cynthia Gowani (vice-president), Gabriella Madriota (recording secretary), Ryan Newell (treasurer), Donovan Richardson (corresponding secretary), Kira Bergman (historian).
Class of 2014: Zachary Burden (president), Jeremy Gelb (vice-president), Emma Hughes (recording secretary), Julie Gray (treasurer), Katherine Gerdes (corresponding secretary), Sarah Mosden (historian).
Class of 2015: Joe Saginaw (president), Liz Corrao (vice-president), Justin Loturco (treasurer), Lana Ziegler (corresponding secretary), Caitlin Knowles (recording secretary), Mary Sheehan (historian), Charles Beers (administrative assistant).
Class of 2016: Alexandra Berwick (president), Heather Bast (vice-president), Katie Reilly (recording secretary), Daniel Mollitor (treasurer), Kelly Palladino (corresponding secretary), Holly LoTurco (historian).
Class of 2017: Kayla Ryan (president), Jack Glicker (vice-president), Theresa Moreno (recording secretary), Julia Engle (treasurer), Keegan Dunne (corresponding secretary), Emma Pipolo (historian).
“The Best Weekend”
School-wide student government vice-president Cynthia Gowani was crowned Homecoming Day queen while fellow senior Ben Kocis was named king. “Senior year homecoming was the best weekend I’ve had over the past few years,” Ms. Gowani said. “Being a member of student government, I put tons of effort and time into building the float, selling tickets and setting up for the dance with my peers. Being crowned homecoming queen was an honor after the immense amount of hard work was put in to make float night and the dance successful.”
“Homecoming this year was a huge success,” student Caitlin Knowles said. “Everyone put in a ton of effort on the floats and the football team was spectacular. Congratulations to all my fellow juniors for your hard work and dedication to constructing a fantastic China float!”
The student council was pleased with the turnout for float night. “It is great to see all of the classes come together with each other for this competition,” Mr. Burden said. “For all of the younger grades that have yet to take part in float night, they really should, because it is such a fun experience and you really should get involved in the events of the high school.”
This year’s parade was larger than in past years and many pedestrians stopped and watched it proceed down Main Street and up New York Avenue. “The parade went great and we had an awesome turnout throughout the town to come and watch the parade and see all of the floats built,” Mr. Burden said. “The homecoming game is always fun, and it was such a gorgeous day, too. It also was such a plus that we won the game! The stands were packed, which was also such a great sign of school spirit.”
Homecoming Dance Rejuvenated
The Saturday night homecoming dance, which had showed signs of withering, seemed to have new life this year. “We sold a very big number of tickets and the people who were there were all dancing and having a good time,” Mr. Burden said. “The dance is always a fun time, but this year seemed extra fun. Overall homecoming weekend went amazing and was a success and I think that all of the seniors and the rest of the school can agree with me that this was one of the more fun and spirited ones we have had.”
Teachers Fred Bisogno and Anthony Troffa serve as the high school student government’s faculty advisors. Serving as senior class advisors are teachers Gina Colica and Victoria Lombardi; librarian Patricia Dillon is the junior class advisor; teachers Camille Tedeschi and Erik Bruckbauer are the sophomore class advisors and faculty members Lauren Baglivi and Kenneth Donovan are the freshman class advisors.
Mr. Burden said Messrs. Bisogno and Troffa “keep all of the officers and the weekend from becoming a mess.” The senior added that all of his fellow student council officers “helped make float night, the parade and the dance run so smoothly. It is definitely a joint effort between all of the officers. Student government this year is definitely a great and dedicated group.”