During the week of October 5th, up until Saturday October 11th, the FHS Student Council worked hard to make homecoming week the most magical it could be. This year, the homecoming theme was “Dream Like Disney,” which StuCo started planning at their yearly “retreat” field trip. On the Sunday before homecoming week, StuCo hosted the Homecoming Kickoff event at Azalea Park after the annual Homecoming Parade. They had food trucks, vendors, and activities like a pickleball tournament. There was even live music, played by our very own Jazz Band!
During the week, there was a new dress-up day each day, named after Disney characters and songs.
- Monday—Sleeping Beauty Day (wear your pajamas)
- Tuesday—You’ve Got a Friend in Me (Disney duos)
- Wednesday—Moana Day (Hawaiian Day)
- Thursday—Colors of the Wind (class colors: seniors—yellow, juniors—red, sophomores—orange, freshmen—blue)
- Friday—Wish upon a Star (black and gold)
StuCo members on each of these days searched for people from their classes to have their pictures taken for a poll on the StuCo Instagram page, with the winning representative earning a spirit point for their grade. Additionally, the winner of each day earned the opportunity to draw some cash at the pep rally on Friday.
At the pep rally, StuCo hosted games for members of each grade to participate in, such as the fan favorites, tug of war and scavenger hunt, and some new games like “Dress to Impress,” based off of the popular game of the same name, in the game Roblox.
The homecoming king and queen candidates ran out one by one while a song of their choosing was played. Once they reached the center of the gym, the candidate duos showed off their handshakes they had created for this event. Each group was welcomed with boisterous applause, and the students were highly encouraged to attend that night’s football game to see who would win homecoming king and queen. Additionally, each of the lower grades had a pair of representatives, voted on and chosen by the members of their grades. These lowerclassmen pairs were the following:
- Freshmen—Elise Laut escorted by Wesley Jones
- Sophomores—Riley Tinnin-Mangold escorted by Keagan Keith
- Juniors—June McCombs escorted by Carson Buntion
As for the king and queen candidates, they were elected by members of every class. The students had the option to vote for these seniors:
- Maisyn Moser and Zac Botbyl
- Carter Hale and Lauren Hale
- Shelby Kennedy and Arthur Butler
- Callie Rice and Blake Terry-Breakfield
- Linda Yang and Dariyon Catchings
The students could vote for any male candidate and any female candidate; they did not have to be from the same pair.
That same day (Friday), the Blackcat football team faced off against Ste. Genevieve High School’s football team for the homecoming game. Before the game began, however, the homecoming coronation was held and the king and queen announced. Each pair walked down the track in front of the home stands, each to boisterous applause. Finally, the king and queen were revealed! For 2025 Homecoming Queen, the winner was Linda Yang. For 2025 Homecoming King, the winner was Arthur Butler.
After the coronation, students and attendees of the game waited with anticipation to watch their team play. While they waited, the Marching Blackcats accompanied by their Alumni Band took the field to perform the pre-game performance of “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” and the school fight song. Quickly after, the band, Gold Dusters, and cheerleaders formed the tunnel for the football team to run through and enter the field.
The Blackcats fought hard against Ste. Gen, but ultimately fell 13-56. This loss was a sad one for the team and the school. Though the week ended on a bittersweet note, every student had an exciting and entertaining week, with lots of boosted student morale.
