Homecoming is a time of a school’s year where the students are cheering, exclaiming, and expressing their love for the school and the activities that it supports; therefore, it is a time where teachers and students can come together, despite differences such as age and hobbies, and relate to one another and celebrate together. “I believe that the true meaning of Homecoming is to show school spirit and to celebrate being a part of Harrisburg High School. Participating in activities put on throughout the week and supporting the extracurricular activities remains a big part of Homecoming week and creates fun opportunities for students to get involved,” said junior Sydney Hage, a student council member, when asked about the true meaning of Homecoming. Although some events went through changes, Homecoming at HHS was still considered a success by those who organized. Despite the planning, communicating, and meeting with teachers, the student council members thought outside the box to continue on with many of the normal events even with the COVID-19 restrictions that were in place. Molly Parsons, a junior student council member, stated, “COVID affected Homecoming in the fact that we could not do some of our annual activities. For example, we were not able to do the pep rally this year as well as the parade. We did get to do a reverse parade, though, where the community drove by all the stand-still floats, which had a good turnout of people. We also had to limit the number of attendees at Coronation, but fortunately, our talented Tiger Vision crew was able to livestream that event. The Homecoming Dance was also a huge success and lots of fun. We had the dance outside this year to allow for more social distancing. In addition, we also took frequent breaks where all attendees cleared out of the tent every fifteen minutes.” For those who chose to involve themselves in the activities, the extra precautions were worth it for the Homecoming experience.
For the seniors, this was their last Homecoming celebration before going to college. Devanie Andre, a senior student council member, was asked if she would change anything about her experience with Homecoming. She responded, “Looking back at Homecoming, I wouldn’t change anything. As a senior, I am just extremely happy that I got to still have a fun and activity-filled week, even if it looked a little different than past years.” Having passed Homecoming about a month ago, it's fair to say that this celebratory week was not only safe for the students, but it was a great morale booster for all involved.