Each year, when the homecoming season rolls around, students leave the building on Friday and return on Monday to a completely different scene. The hallways are decorated with paper, paintings, streamers, posters, and so much more. It is a transformation that, to most of the student body, seems almost miraculous and effortless. That, however, is quite far from the truth.
A member of the Senior Executive Council said, “It’s a lot more stressful than people think.” Although it seems to just appear in the hallway, the decoration process actually takes around 5 hours.
On Oct 1, the members of each council stayed until 8pm working to put up the scenes you walk past. Not to mention, each decoration is handmade, which means spending countless hours beforehand to prepare for decoration night. Another Senior Executive Council member explained that “every free class period you have, you’re painting!” Decorating these hallways is no small feat, and is certainly not for the faint of heart.
If it takes so much effort to execute, why even bother? Do the students even appreciate having the hallways decorated?
Emma Blackham, the president of the Senior Executive Council, shared her opinion on this. “Do they appreciate it? Yes. Do they appreciate it enough for the time commitment? No. But I do think they like it and I think it's fun.”
The Executive Councils have been decorating the hallways for as long as anyone can remember, but even they don’t know why they actually do it. According to Mr. Cunningham, the Sophomore Executive Council sponsor, “Decorating the hallways is...intended to bring...a school spirit out of the homecoming season. Originally, it was to...compete...class to class by grade level, but now it seems like...more of a...coming together activity. That’s why you’ll see a lot of the hallways will have the names of...the class members in it...That way everybody feels part of it.”
The Executive Councils have been decorating the hallways for as long as anyone can remember, but even they don’t know why they actually do it. According to Mr. Cunningham, the Sophomore Executive Council sponsor, “Decorating the hallways is...intended to bring...a school spirit out of the homecoming season. Originally, it was to...compete...class to class by grade level, but now it seems like...more of a...coming together activity. That’s why you’ll see a lot of the hallways will have the names of...the class members in it...That way everybody feels part of it.”
The competition aspect of the hallway decorating may have fallen away, but there is still a huge focus on school spirit. The Freshman Executive Council chose to focus on Nazareth spirit with their theme this year.
As Mr. Cunningham explained, the hallway decorating is no longer an official competition, but there is still a little bit of a competitive spark between the councils. Each group aspires to outperform the other, just for pride’s sake.
As Mr. Cunningham explained, the hallway decorating is no longer an official competition, but there is still a little bit of a competitive spark between the councils. Each group aspires to outperform the other, just for pride’s sake.
Over the past, the Junior hallways have been crowd favorites, presenting themes such as Aladdin, Monster’s Inc, and now a 50’s Diner and Drive in. Emma Blackham commented that “the Junior one is always the best because it is the easiest to design. You can be transported into a world!” The Juniors always have the advantage of a thinner, shorter hallway. They can use every inch of the wall space without trouble, whereas the longer, more open Freshman and Sophomore hallways are difficult to manage. Nonetheless, each group puts in their all every year to bring the best decor they have to the table.
It is no small feat for the members of the councils to create decorations and hang them up, all the while still doing schoolwork and other activities. Just because the hallways look magical, doesn’t mean they show up magically. It takes a lot of work, but the Executives are willing to do it because they know the students enjoy it and how important it is to the spirit of the homecoming season.
