Homecoming week is a time for festivities, welcoming back alumni, and showcasing school spirit. This year, Platteview High School celebrating Homecoming 2022 on September 26th – September 30th.  Each day of the week, students took short breaks between classes to compete in games, all vying to be the class with the most spirit.

Monday, September 26
When everyone arrived at school on Monday morning, the school was decorated. Hallways were decorated by the PHS Cheerleaders, emphasizing this year’s overall theme – casino. Monday’s daily theme was Soccer Moms and Barbecue Dads. The students had the funniest outfits and were all very creative. During fourth period, the school gathered in the main gym to participate in a Jeopardy style trivia game called “How well do you know your advisory teacher?” The teachers sat in front of their advisories and answered the questions with their students. This was the time to know where your advisor went to college, their favorite snack, and even their favorite sports team. The Juniors came in first place, and the winning advisory overall was Mrs. Zeleny’s freshmen. Since the competition went by so fast, we ended the period with a few games of 50/50–a heads or tails game the student body has gotten really into. Classes came up with their own strategies for the game, and it allowed them to communicate with one another well. 

Tuesday, September 27
Tuesday’s theme was “favorite movie character.” Again, the student body showed up in style. There were four Homecoming competitions that day. Second period, two brand new Homecoming events were held. A Mario Kart tournament was held in the main gym. Using both scoreboards and multiple televisions, two juniors on the E-Sports team, Jackson Sorensen and Kaden Slaughter, had a blast narrating the races. While the contestants went for a thrilling ride through Coconut Mall and a multitude of turtleshell strikes, the Junior team took the first place medal. As a result, they played a bonus round against four Platteview teachers. 

The other newly formed Homecoming competition was the chess match in the auditorium. The players had preliminary matches the week before to determine their class representatives. Kaelynn Harder represented the freshmen and Ada Heneger represented the sophomores. When these two students faced it off, the spectating students cheered on their representatives loudly and proudly. The competition eventually came to a showdown between Ty Orwig (senior) and Samuel Verdoni (junior) battling for first place. In the end, neither player could find mate, and the match came to a draw. 

The third activity on Tuesday was the famous dodgeball competition. The Seniors faced the Freshmen for both girls and boys teams. The senior boys have an impressive winning streak to uphold. They have been undefeated in the Homecoming dodgeball competition since they were mere freshmen. With multiple grades cheering them on, they were able to keep their winning streak alive to carry them onto the finals. Next the freshmen and senior girls went head to head. After a close game, the freshmen girls defeated the upperclassmen. 

The fourth competition was held during sixth period. The student body and staff once again gathered in the main gym, this time for a minute-to-win-it style relay race. The competition allowed a diverse group of students to shine. Whether they were doing the cup flip, the puzzle, or the no hands Oreo eating, everyone was highly invested and holding their breath in suspense. In the end, the Senior class won the race with major credit to Gage Ryba for leading the competition in total Oreos. 

Wednesday, September 28
Wednesday’s theme was country versus country club. This theme opened opportunity for costume choices. Some students came decked out in plaid, argyle, and polos while the others came in jeans, boots, and cowboy hats. This day was another jam packed day of events. We started the day off with two more new events. Spike Ball was held in the main gym. In the end, the seniors won the contest and even faced a few teachers.

The other new Homecoming contest was the “Name that Tune” trivia held in the auditorium. All grades had two representatives who answered and received help from their peers. The songs included oldies, classics from our teacher’s childhoods, and some newer works. The competition was not a close match as the Juniors racked up points from their diverse group. Amelia Riley was keen on Pop music, Avery Klusmire was a Country music expert, and Owen Hudson dominated with Rock knowledge. They won with a massive score of 39 points, followed by the seniors with 16 points.

During advisory, the second round of dodgeball was held to determine the matchup for finals. The Freshman and Junior boys battled it out until the Juniors won and advanced to the championship. The Sophomore girls went against the Junior girls and the Sophomores won their ticket to the finals.

Seventh period was the well awaited dodgeball championship games. The matches started with the Senior boys versus the Junior boys. The Seniors were led into the gym by senior members of the Trojan band. The band played a short three song pregame while players warmed up and the crowd seated. The Seniors finished their undefeated high school dodgeball careers with a two round win. Once they got the last Junior out, the senior band members proudly played as the spectators flooded onto the court. After the chaos of congratulating ended, the girls championship began. The Sophomore girls put up a strong fight against the Freshmen, but they couldn’t hold on in the end. The Freshmen ladies came out victorious. 

The Homecoming Parade occurred in downtown Springfield on Wednesday night. Clubs, groups, and activities made floats, Homecoming candidates waved from cars, candy was handed out to viewers, and a fireworks ended the night at the Sarpy County Fair Grounds.

Thursday, September 29
Thursday’s theme was class colors. The Freshmen wore white, the Sophomores blue, the Juniors navy, and the Seniors in black. Students filled the gym with Platteview’s colors for the pep rally during eighth period. All classes are ready to cheer and help the football team win Friday night’s game against the Crimson Pride of Roncalli Catholic.