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Surrounded by bubbles, Ethan Clark ’26, Cole Osborn ’25, Ben Meijers ’25, and Claire Braun ’25 ride in the Water Polo float in the parade. The float’s theme was Legend of Zelda, and Meijers and Braun dressed up as the two main characters from the game, Link and Zelda.
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Holding the microphone, Coach Travis Dalrymple announces a pep rally performance to the crowd. Coach Dalrymple’s enthusiasm during typical school-day pep rallies was amplified at the Homecoming Pep Rally.
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Smiling, seniors Shivani Kondubhatla and Shrishti Mahajan sit atop a convertible. The two rode through the neighborhood as a part of the Homecoming Court.
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Celebrating their victory, seniors Ava Nicosia, Natu Benyam, and Oliver Seveland announce the Water Polo team’s advancement to state. The pep rally featured many core student groups and their respective achievements and announcements.
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Cheering, the cheer team celebrates their first place win for their Homecoming float decoration. The announcement for the winners, which was made after the pep rally, energized the cheerleaders.
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Walking with her escorts, Kylie Denton ’25 smiles while being recognized on the field. As a member of the Homecoming Court, Denton is among the eager candidates vying for the coveted Homecoming Royalty positions.
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Waving to the crowd, Warrior Cheer throws candies and chocolates to the children lining the streets. Cheer adopted the theme of Candy Land for their float, eventually winning first prize for their float design and execution.
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Performing gracefully, Cheyenne Wang ’25 smiles broadly at the crowd as she dances. Warrior Pride was only one of many key performances that took place throughout the evening.
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Filled with excitement, the Warrior Band prepares to perform their pieces for the Homecoming Parade. At the head of the procession, the band was also responsible for heralding and spreading school spirit to the community.
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Dancing energetically, the Sundancers impress the crowd with their dynamic movements. After engaging the neighborhood crowds with their fun float design and costumes, the SunDancers were excited to showcase their talent during the pep rally that followed the parade.
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Smiling brightly and cheering pridefully, students officially kicked off Homecoming week by hosting the annual mid-week parade and pep rally on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Lining up along the sidewalks in eager throngs, a diverse range of community members took part in the show of school spirit. Students, staff, and families alike came together to cheer for the myriad of Westwood organizations, and relish in an engaging and unique break from the whims of daily academic life.
An opportunity for an abundance of clubs and programs to take the spotlight, the Homecoming Parade featured the themed floats of numerous organizations, manifesting in a spirited procession around the neighborhood. As a part of the evening festivities, the seniors from each organization tossed candy onto the streets for the excited children and families of the community. Nostalgia filled the hearts of seniors taking part in their last Homecoming event, reminiscing about their high school journey and all the ways in which Westwood has shaped them over the years.
“To me, it feels like everything is coming full circle,” SunDancer Erin Price ‘25 said. “When a SunDancer is in their senior year, they get to stand on top of the float and it’s so much fun that I get the chance to finally participate in it and not have to walk the full mile. It also allows me to hang out with my senior friends which makes the experience even better.”
In accordance with the Homecoming theme, “Level Up,” announced by Student Council (StuCo), the clubs meticulously chose the themes of their floats based on classic and beloved games. Many student groups put in special efforts to ensure that their float stood out, and for some, these efforts were later commemorated, proving that their hard work in creating the floats paid off as they rejoiced in the parade’s success. Announced later at the pep rally, the winners of the best-themed float were declared after an in-depth judging process during the parade by admin officials. Softball came in third, with Women’s Soccer following close behind, and Cheer coming out on top to claim the coveted first place.
“Our theme this year is CandyLand, and because we’re Cheer we call it “CheerLand,” Head Cheer Coach Melina Vargas said. “The seniors are all dressed up as characters, and the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen are gingerbread men or other candies. The girls all went to one person’s house [to prepare], and we borrowed the trailer from a friend. We all pitched in our part, and the girls painted all the signs and made their own costumes. The whole process took a total of five hours.”
The participants of the parade hope to continue the legacy of their programs and clubs and leave a positive, lasting impression on those interested in getting more involved with the Westwood community.
“I just hope that newer theater kids have the same amount of passion that I do for drama, and I see it in them already,” Drama Club member Kaya Chen ‘25 said. “I know that they’re going to do just as amazing as we do here. Even though I’m moving on soon, I know that they’ll fit into the shoes they’re trying to fit into.”
As the floats began to circle back to the school, signaling the conclusion of the parade, Westwood families, staff, and students gathered to the Warrior Bowl where they were encountered by the lively soundtrack of rustling pom poms, banging drums, and prideful cheers, marking the beginning of the second portion of the night’s festivities, the Homecoming Pep Rally.
In order for the pep rally to successfully celebrate the onset of Homecoming, all student participants did their part in preparing and executing their respective portion of the pep rally agenda. Featuring numerous performances form key performing arts groups, the pep rally saw exhibitions by Cheer, Warrior Pride, SunDancers, Chinese Yo-Yo Club, and K-pop Club.
“Since it was our [beginning-of-the-year] pom routine, we [had already] performed it before this event, but for the pep rally, we went over certain moves a lot to make it the best performance that we’ve ever done,” Warrior Pride member Emily Rincon ‘27 said. “I hope to make others just want to get up and dance by bringing so much energy and just being proud of Westwood.”
Amidst the singular variety of programs that often participate in pep rallies, the K-pop Club was especially excited to be able to showcase their talent in front of audiences they might usually not encounter as often as other groups. The club was happy to have made their showstopping return, allowing their club to gain recognition and visibility as they concluded their first wide-scale performance of the year. They seized the opportunity to dance to popular K-pop songs in front of the student audience in order to not only share K-pop culture with the Westwood community, but also put on a lively show for their peers.
“For me, [dancing in front of an audience is] a bit intimidating because not a lot of people are into K-pop, but I think [performing in the pep rally] is a unique opportunity for us to share our music taste [especially because] I love representing a part of music culture that many students are afraid to celebrate,” K-pop member Paige Chen ‘27 said. “I think [celebrating K-pop culture] is really cool because it’s nice to show [students] good songs to get them excited and share what we do. I have a lot of dancing experience even outside of K-pop, but I feel like being a ‘stan,’ just makes dancing to those songs so much more special.”
After a presentation of the Homecoming Court nominees in anticipation of Friday’s Homecoming Game and announcement of Homecoming Royalty, the Pep Rally concluded with the final ranking of the top float winners of the Homecoming Parade, helping facilitate pride throughout the community, and exciting students for the Homecoming Game and Dance taking place towards the end of the week, on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19, respectively.
“Everyone puts a lot of energy and effort into the floats they make, which I believe brings students together, even if it’s just friendly competition,” SunDancer Sophia Stone ’25 said. “[I think] this event as a whole ultimately brings everyone together as a community to celebrate Homecoming.”
