On Saturday, Sept. 27, Green Hope celebrated its annual homecoming celebration with a theme of “under the sea.” Students were encouraged to attend and wear glittery dresses and matching ties. The event was introduced by a week of festivities, including a spirit week, homecoming football game and pep rally that allowed students the opportunity to showcase their school spirit and bond with peers. The GH Falcon sat down with student body president An Vu (‘26), Falcon Frenzy leader Rachael Baldyga (‘26) and senior class president Ella Chase (‘26) to inquire about the events and their roles in planning.
Vu, the student body president, had a role in planning the spirit week and pep rally aspects of homecoming week. Homecoming is an event primarily overseen by the senior class student council, but members of other grade level councils help out as well. Her role was focused primarily on planning the pep rally, which was hosted on Friday, Sept. 26th, on Green Hope’s football field.
For the majority of the council, this was their first time planning a pep rally, as last year’s event had been carried out by Falcon Frenzy members. It was the responsibility of the student council in 2023, but only one member from that council remained in this year’s council. Vu shared her experience with planning, stating that student council members were tasked with looking over the past two years’ pep rallies and determining what worked and what didn’t. The group did a deep dive into the former council’s scripts for pep rallies and decided on what aspects would be brought to the upcoming event. This year, the student council focused on student engagement. “The difference this year is that we tried to connect to the students more, so we tried to bring everything closer, we tried to talk more to the students and we tried our best to be engaging,” Vu shared. Students of all grade levels sat on the same side of the football field, only feet apart from the athletes being recognized.
The fall pep rally is known to honor the accomplishments and successes of fall athletes and sports teams, including volleyball, women’s tennis, women’s gymnastics, men’s soccer, cross country, football and sports med. The teams were walked out by a member of the student council, where a captain then gave a speech. Vu shared how she planned this portion of the pep rally. “I divided the work so each one of my student council members was in charge of a sports team, and then Selena dealt with admin stuff. She would email Mr. St. John to ask about football field details and stuff like that,” Vu shared.
Additionally, the student council was responsible for submitting a timeline to administration that detailed the minute-by-minute plans for games, sports teams introductions and performances at the pep rally. This ensured each team was introduced at the correct time, by the correct person. “On the field, we had teams already organized. I just had to look for all my student council members and put them in order, so they brought the team that they were in charge of in order. We had headsets to talk to the booth and we just rolled everyone out. I was like a stage manager and a planner in a way,” explained Vu.
Planning an event for Green Hope’s 2,500 students has its challenges. Student council members had to ensure students were engaged and excited, while also ensuring that the event ran smoothly. “I’m really proud of our organization and communication because we didn’t really freak out. Everybody knew where they were supposed to be and it flowed really well,” Vu stated. Her favorite part of planning the event was implementing activities and suggesting ideas to help keep students engaged: “Planning this whole thing made me so much better at organization and event planning, which I think is a very good skill to have.”
Students attending the pep rally were encouraged to dress in colors according to their grade, as directed by Friday’s homecoming spirit week theme. The event included performances from Green Hope’s dance and cheer teams as well as the band. The Falcon Frenzies, Green Hope’s student section leaders, are the ones who keep students involved and invested in school events. Falcon Frenzies kept the crowd engaged with games like “Pop the Balloon” and “Go Get It,” ensuring that school spirit was high leading into the homecoming football game and dance. Senior Falcon Frenzy Rachael Baldyga described her experience leading the pep rally, “My favorite part of being a student section leader is being front and center, serving as a liaison between the players and students, and my favorite part of the pep rally was hearing all the sports captains speak and seeing how widespread our school’s success is across different teams.”
School spirit is a driving force in the experience of homecoming weekend. Rachael Baldyga is a senior and a member of the Falcon Frenzies. As a tri-sport athlete, she knows very well the importance of spirit and engagement in athletics, recognizing that, “Support from the stands can have a tremendous impact on the outcome of a game.” Baldyga and the rest of the Frenzies were in charge of planning the pep rally alongside the student council; their responsibilities included game planning and crowd engagement. She was also responsible for a quick speech representing the women’s flag football team, just as other varsity captains did for their respective teams.
At Friday’s homecoming game, students showed out in white-out themed outfits to support the football team. In past years, being a Frenzy was only an option for seniors, but this year, the opportunity was open to all grades with hopes of increasing participation and support for the school’s athletics. Baldyga spoke on how she and the other leaders work to keep fans invested in the game. “Cheers, while important, can become repetitive. Changing things up and adding different props helps keep the crowd engaged and motivated. For the homecoming game, we threw white powder in the air when the team scored.”
Friday night’s homecoming football game against Apex was a fun opportunity for students to come out and represent Green Hope spirit while watching the football team win. Baldyga discussed her experience at the game, saying, “My favorite part of the homecoming game was seeing the direct connection between our football team’s success and the passion from the stands.” She and the other Frenzies kept morale high throughout the game, cheering and directing the student section in support of the players, which eventually helped them secure a 27-0 home win to boost their record to 5-1.
Green Hope’s Student Council planned the homecoming dance and helped to organize the pep rally’s proceedings, the members all working together to secure food and festivities to be provided at the dance. They also collaborated with the Falcon Frenzies to run the pep rally and were in charge of the presentation of athletic teams.
In Baldyga’s closing remarks, she mentioned the importance of student section leaders and how they can make a difference in school events. “While I wouldn’t say we started anything brand new, one of our goals this year was to change how students view Falcon Frenzy. In past years, there wasn’t as much effort or energy, and as Falcon Frenzies, we set the tone and lead by example.” The Frenzies played a pivotal role in the 2025 homecoming weekend, and they will continue to help support Falcon events and athletics throughout this school year. Baldyga also left some advice for future Frenzies, saying, “For next year’s student section leaders, I’d say have fun and enjoy it, especially the seniors. The more fun and effort you put in, the more the students will respond and interact.”
The final event of Green Hope’s homecoming week was the dance itself. The homecoming dance took place in the Green Hope commons, which was turned into an under the sea wonderland by student council members and faculty. It took place from 7-10 p.m., and tickets were $25 per student. Upon entrance, attendees had various dinner, dessert and drink options, and were surrounded by music and bright lights.
As for the logistics of the dance, the entire event was planned by student council members. Senior class president Ella Chase, shared her role in planning. “My role in planning homecoming this year really consisted of overlooking and making sure that work was delegated correctly. I was very hands on with the decoration portion, picking out decorations and working one on one with our balloon lady,” she shared. Alongside assisting with decorations, Chase was responsible for ensuring the productivity of other student council members, overseeing that everything went smoothly and was completed at the correct time.
The theme for the dance was initially recommended by Vu. Her idea was shared with student council representatives, who voiced positive feedback at the idea with a majority vote. “We had a lot of decorations and a lot of different ideas that we thought could play out very well to set up within the school,” shared Chase, “The representatives who communicate classmates’ thoughts and voices to us also agreed with it, so that was great.”
As for all of homecoming week festivities, the main goal was ensuring that participants had a memorable experience. Despite being a school-wide event, homecoming is less popular among upperclassmen. This year, the student council tried to change that, ensuring the event was appealing to everyone, to which Chase shared, “I know for freshmen and sophomores, [homecoming is] their first time at a real high school event. If you’re a freshman or a sophomore, you want to go and experience that new high school event.” This year’s dance had participants from all grade levels, allowing for students to interact with peers they may not see as often. “Our main goal was just ensuring that people had a good experience,” she shared. Additionally, student council members sought to ensure that the views of students were represented in planning and decision making. They relied heavily on student representatives to make food theme choices, gaining insight into majority wishes.
Decorations were a key factor of the homecoming dance this year. Student council members worked hard to ensure that the dance felt life-like and authentic, immersing students into a colorful atmosphere with various streamers and balloon arches. Chase shared the council’s perspective on decorating. “You want to walk into a dance setting where the theme is very much tied into the decorations that are hanging up and spread out across the school. We really wanted it to be a very ‘under the sea’ theme, not like you were just walking into the school,” Chase elaborated. Chase’s favorite part of setting up was deciding on decorations. Utilizing the budget to fit the maximum amount of decorations was a creative challenge, but one that she felt was enjoyable.
Overall, Chase was most excited about the memorable experience she was able to help create for students. “I think that dances are a great opportunity to meet up with your friends and have a good time seeing everybody, enjoying the night, food, music and the people that they’re surrounded [by],” she shared, “It’s a great feeling, not only for me, but for the rest of the student council and for all of the students who went.”
Homecoming and its week of festivities are a hallmark tradition of the high school experience for many. It’s important to recognize the work and effort that goes into its execution, thanking those who helped make it happen.
