Fall cheerleader experiencing homecoming

As a fall cheerleader, Homecoming is one of the most exciting parts of our season. We plan the dress-up days, pep fests on Friday in both Ellendale and New Richland, and, of course, cheer on our teams. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole week and loved to see the school’s spirit. Homecoming week is an important tradition in many schools across the U.S., and NRHEG was able to celebrate it during the last week of September.

 

On Monday the theme of the day was country vs. country club. Quite a few students participated in the dress-up. It also was the theme for our volleyball game that day. The dress-up day for Tuesday was Hawaiian and students showed their spirit with lots of leis. Wednesday was pajama day. Lots of people came comfy and ready to learn. Class colors were the theme for Thursday. Each grade was assigned their own color to wear that day. Finally, Friday was the day to show your Panther pride! Students dressed up in Homecoming shirts, the school colors, and football jerseys. This day is the busiest out of the week and the most exciting. 

 

A very exciting part of Friday is the pep fests. The elementary and high schools are very different, so lots of thought and planning goes into the events. One of the main games at the elementary school was head, shoulders, toes, and POM. This game is based off of the song head, shoulders, knees, and toes. To play, there are two people facing one another with a cheer pom-pom sitting in between them. As someone calls out one of the names, each person places their hands in said spot until pom is announced. Then the first person to grab the pom-pom wins.

 

As for high school, my favorite game was our scavenger hunt. Two people in each grade were selected and selected down to the middle of the gym. Mady Bogue (fall team captain) called out various items such as a specific number of hair ties, shoe laces, or even Owala water bottles. However, the items couldn’t come from themselves and had to be given from the crowd. After those activities, the team is a part of the parades. For the Ellendale one, we happily rode on Mrs. Thom’s fiance's truck, Big Red. As for New Richland, we got to share a water tanker from The New Richland Fire Department with the cross-country team. After the parades, it was on to the football game.

 

The football game is the biggest part of Homecoming Day. It gives time for not only the students but also past alumni, family, and community members to show their school spirit. This year, our team was against the Medford Tigers. You could say we stomped those Tigers and hung them on the line because the final score was 43-8. The game was very exciting to cheer for as we love our school and are very thankful to be able to cheer for them. Homecoming week is very special to the whole fall cheer team and we love to be a part of it and help the whole student body show their spirit!