Every year, Mount Pisgah takes part in a series of traditions and activities known as homecoming week (HOCO week). While most students think it’s just a week of fun leading up to the dance, homecoming is a time where Mount Pisgah alumni can come home and celebrate the return to their alma mater.
Dress Up Week
To start off the week, each day was assigned a different theme for students and teachers to dress up.
Kasey Saari, a teacher involved in student government, explains, “theme choices have to be appropriate for kindergarten through the 12th grade, so while they might feel kind of boring, we have to consider what kindergarteners can wear.”
Some students got extremely creative and went all out. Junior Tomy Smith took “Christmas out” very seriously when he came to school as Buddy the Elf from the Elf movie. On Disney day, student-teacher duo Brad Smith and junior Ryder Kotake appeared as Carl Fredricksen and Russell from Up.
Mr. Pisgah
Another huge part of HOCO week that we all know and love is the iconic Mr. Pisgah contest where one male candidate is selected from each grade to compete in a pageant to earn the title of “Mr. Pisgah.”
The competition was intense this year. The contestants included freshman Clayton Scarbrough, sophomore Tommy Massie, junior Steele Brown, and senior Osahon Uhuangho. And after a long showcase of talents and skills, Brown was crowned winner.
“I already knew it was going to happen,” Brown confidently explains.
Brown had been planning for his Mr. Pisgah win for months before the competition.
“I already had these ideas and everything laid out before Sharptop,” said Brown.
These “ideas” included an elaborate coffin that he built himself, a pre-choreographed group dance number and matching shirts for everybody in the junior class who led him to victory.
Homecoming Court
In addition to Mr. Pisgah, every year the upper school student body chooses two female representatives from each grade, and four for the senior class, to make up homecoming court.
The homecoming court gets recognized during the HOCO parade on Friday, as well as a special presentation during halftime of the homecoming game later that night. After this presentation, one representative from the senior class is voted “homecoming queen.”
This year, senior Natania Nasieku was crowned queen. Nasieku was a part of the homecoming court her freshman year, and was chosen by her own peers for homecoming queen this year.
Homecoming Dance
To end off this week of excitement, all of the students spend their Saturday getting ready for the HOCO dance. This night includes wearing your best dress or suit, taking many pictures, going to dinner and having a lot of fun at the dance.
A huge part of this night is getting to see the unique and outgoing outfits everyone puts on. As a chaperone at the dance, Saari, caught a glimpse of all the attire and shared her thoughts on the fashion choices.
“I’m always a big fan of the sneakers over heels personally, so I respect girls who go for comfort,” Saari commented.
It’s safe to say that this year practicality and individual style were very present with every fashion decision made.
From the goofy dress up days, to the crowning of Mr. Pisgah and homecoming queen, this year’s HOCO week at Mount Pisgah was filled with fun, spirit and community. Everybody’s participation fueled the excitement, making it an amazing experience that allowed our school to grow in unity.
