Inaugural Homecoming Weekend was a Success
For the first time in Westminster history, STUCO hosted a bustling Homecoming week, the week of Oct. 1, complete with a talent show, carnival games and rides, a dog show, a football game, a banquet, and more. While a lot of hard work and preparation went into the event, seeing the community come together made it all worth it.
“I loved watching all of the planning that’s been going on for six weeks being put into motion, and I got so many positive comments from parents, teachers, and students. It is so cool to see the hard work and creativity of our STUCO group turn in to a successful event for the entire community,” said Susie Brown, director of student life.
The wide variety of events was targeted to all ages, which allowed students to see that the Westminster community is much more than simply what takes place during the school day.
“My favorite part was seeing all of the community from little kids to adults enjoying each other and the booths and rides,” said Bricyn Johnson, a senior STUCO officer.
The weekend began with the “Hoedown Showdown,” a talent show featuring the unique abilities of WCA students and faculty. The show, hosted by Matthew Culligan, senior, and Kyle Roff, upper school English teacher, featured the faculty band, as well as songs, dances, and other acts performed by students. Senior Daniel Herrera won the talent show with an amazing piano piece, played all from memory.
“I was surprised by how so many people showed their support and voted for me. I think that the talent show was a great way to start the weekend off because the atmosphere was so positive,” said Herrera.
Next, on Friday night, members of the community attended Carnival, where they supported class booths by buying food and playing games, enjoyed the new addition of rides, and attended one of the many sports games played at Westminster that night.
“It was great to have Carnival at the same time as our game because a lot of people came out and supported us,” said senior Sabrina Granata, the varsity field hockey goalie.
On Saturday morning, booths continued to sell their products during the 8th-grade football game. One of the most popular booths was Pawprint Coffee, a company run by students of Westminster’s entrepreneurship class.
“The Pawprint booth was a great way to showcase our coffee to the Westminster community and allow people to see what we are all about before we opened for business on Monday, Oct. 7,” said Lily Duda, a senior entrepreneurship student.
One of the surprises that wowed the community was a fly-over of World War II planes, which was made possible by senior Heidi Hightower’s family.
“I was so happy to find out that my dad was able to bring the flyover together, considering three of the pilots flew in from out of state to be there. They always fly over CBC’s home opener and when I found out that our football game was on the same day, I knew I had to ask. I’ve probably seen hundreds of formation flights and have even been in a few myself, but I was especially honored to see my dad flyover my school. It was great to be able to allow others to see something so spectacular, too,” said Hightower.
After the fly-over, the seniors on the varsity football team, as well as the varsity cheer and dance teams, were recognized in front of the crowd. Then, the varsity football team played Lutheran South and defeated them 35-0. The support from the Westminster community was a key factor for their win that day.
“It was great to see the crowd come out and support us and it gave us extra motivation to play hard and win the game,” said Ben Straub, a senior member of the football team.
Finally, on Saturday night, students attended a Homecoming banquet at the Frontenac Hilton, which was an amazing conclusion to the weekend and allowed students to have fun and enjoy each other’s company.
“I loved seeing all of our hard work being enjoyed by the community. The atmosphere was so cool! It was just rewarding having put in so much thought and time to this new event to see it mean something to other people as well,” said Nicki Mabry, junior class president.
