Scattered across the homes of various Student Council (StuCo) officers, students from each class gathered on Monday, Oct. 14 to build their themed Homecoming parade floats. Each group’s different theme, based on a video or board game of their choice, guided their trailer decorations.
StuCo, who organized the Homecoming parade and came up with the games theme, worked to keep festivities high among students throughout Homecoming week by organizing fun opportunities for each class to socialize.
The pinnacle of mid-week Homecoming festivities, the parade is often considered a unique opportunity for not only various clubs and organizations to share the spotlight with each other, but also for students to engage with the larger community in a dynamic and interactive way.
The crisp sound of paper folding into blocks echoed through Student Council (StuCo) Junior Class President Rheya Kurian’s garage as the Class of 2026 worked on their Minecraft-themed Homecoming parade float during the long weekend of Monday, Oct. 14.
“We realized that we had the Monday off, so we decided that we could host a social work day to get ready for our float, and make all the things that are necessary for it,” Kurian said.
The group cut and folded paper to piece together into cubes that would represent Minecraft blocks, subsequently shaping them into Minecraft creatures, including creepers and bees.
“Our class voted on [our theme], and I think Minecraft is a really good theme because it’s so versatile. There are so many good parts of Minecraft you can embody,” StuCo Junior Class Secretary Ryan Gu said.
Despite the three hours of hard work, the class had yet to finish their elaborate decorations. They continued their crafting during the week in preparation for Wednesday’s parade.
“[The work day] was fun because it was a big task, but everyone passing the time together and having conversation together made it easier,” Gu said. “I’m just excited to [distribute] candy [to] children and see how happy they are when they catch it [during the parade].”
In an effort to prepare for the upcoming Homecoming festivities, the Class of 2027 came together to capture and turn the much-loved game of Pokemon Go into a Homecoming float. The group of six volunteers worked from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 and Monday, Oct. 14 to craft their themed float and bring the game to life.
“I loved making the Pokémons and Pokémon balls,” Student Council (StuCo) Sophomore Class President Saanvi Mittal said. “Painting and coloring them was so much fun.”
During the eight hours of volunteering, students drew, cut out, and painted Pokeballs and Pokemons that would eventually end up stapled to the sides of the float, allowing the float a unique and interactive dimension.
“I loved working with the others in my class to come up with ideas for the float,” StuCo Sophomore Class Secretary Yonnie Yang said. “It was great to collaborate with them and have fun being creative at the same time.”
Finding themselves occupied with eight busy hours of hard-core volunteering due to the lack of volunteers available to help, the sophomore class makes it their goal to improve volunteer turnout for next year.
“Next year, I want to advertise more so we get more people, [and] so that the tasks are easier to do overall,” Mittal said. “Because we only had six people, it was a lot harder to accomplish, especially with such little time.”
Following the trail of paint splatters, students hiked up the hill leading to Student Council (StuCo) Freshman Class President Apple Ma’s house to create the Class of 2028’s Kirby Adventures of the Sea-themed Homecoming parade float on Sunday, Oct. 13 and Monday, Oct. 14.
“When we were thinking about what we should do, we just picked a game that everyone enjoyed overall, and we thought Kirby would be cute and fun for homecoming,” StuCo Freshman Class Representative Cecilia Chen ‘28 said.
Over the course of 10 hours, the team of eight volunteers crafted stars from cardboard, painted a city landscape, and engineered a large Kirby figurine as well as Kirby’s throne.
“It was more community building, it wasn’t really a job to do, I think HoCo is just supposed to be fun and an activity that everyone can participate in,” Chen said.
The freshmen class volunteers finished off their float building strong, with more than four hours left to spare, which they used to clean up materials, and simply enjoy each other’s company.
“It [was] really fun, [and] I’ve heard of HoCo being a big part of highschool,” Chen said. “I just think it’s a very fun way to interact with [the rest of] the student body.”
One of the sole opportunities for a show of school spirit this wide-scale, the Homecoming Parade is often taken by many students as a way to share the soul of their organizations and exhibit their passions for the larger community.
A unique added dimension to this showcase of talent and spirit, Student Council’s (StuCo) chosen theme of Level Up prompted many student groups to think outside of the box and come up with creative representations of their respective games. As students and their respective floats basked in the attention of enthusiastic young children, the parade evoked a sense of nostalgia for many older students.
Content to have a break from the monotony of academic life, students and staff alike took the time to ensure the Homecoming Parade ran seamlessly, and that the event was able to acutely represent the spirit and soul of Westwood.
