Down the Rabbit Hole and Up the Spiral Hill

BARRY CHEUNG
JOSEPH NEY-JUN
Staff Writers

For 2014, ASB based the theme of the Homecoming dance on a blending of the two movies “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Alice in Wonderland” and named “Nightmare in Wonderland,” with red, black and silver as the theme colors. The dance took place at the Quad on Nov. 1.

“In terms of work, ASB [pitched] in ideas for the vision we [had] for “Nightmare,” ASB President Kristie Sham said. “It’s been a really creative process, and the decor [looked] pretty [amazing]. ASB and Frosh Leadership [had] been working during class and after school for all the preparations. Despite facing some unique challenges this year, I’m so proud of ASB for always pushing to do more.”

The opinions from students varied on the idea of Homecoming’s theme being a mix of the two movies.
“I never watched either movie so the theme doesn’t really intrigue me and the spirit week is as usual, but the energy is great,” junior Tina Le said.

Annually, there is an assembly to announce the Homecoming festivities such as the Homecoming game, dance, carnival and Spirit Week. This year the assembly featured two homecoming videos: one on the Homecoming Spirit Week and one on the Homecoming dance. ASB informed students about the carnival and the new parade during the assembly. The Homecoming king, queen, the princes and the princesses were all introduced in the Homecoming Court announcement. In addition, the Mighty Moor Marching Band (MMMB), Choir and All Male Dance Team performed.

“The homecoming assembly was simply spectacular. Even though the pep of the school may not be as high in past years, I think the effort of ASB to produce has not faded. I enjoyed the video shown and especially enjoyed All Male’s highly anticipated performance,” junior Justin Imaa.

This year’s Spirit Week incorporated the days “Mad Hatter” Monday, “Twindle Dee” Tuesday, “Wickedly Wiggy” Wednesday, “Twisted” Thursday and the traditional “Blue and Gold” Friday.

“Spirit Week was planned slowly and steadily ever since the theme was settled. There was a myriad of thoughts and ideas made possible with our props and materials. The video was worked on with comedy in mind in order to invite AHS with the enthusiasm and entertainment Homecoming has to bring,” Assistant to Webmaster Allen Fann said.

ASB publicized Homecoming in various ways. They promoted Homecoming through social media websites and placed posters all around the campus. To promote the dance further, they offered free admission to Thespians’ Haunted House. After the assembly, ASB passed out dance contracts to make it convenient for students to obtain one.

“Homecoming is such a fun high school tradition. It’s really the center of school pride. I hope by offering such diversity in activities, we can encourage more students to be part of this annual tradition. Homecoming is basically all about having pride in your school and community,” Sham said.

ASB planned to make this year’s Homecoming week a new experience with the addition of AHS’s first Homecoming parade and the continuation of the Homecoming carnival. The parade was led by the MMMB around 4 p.m. and ended around 4:40 p.m. from AHS to Moor Field in time for the carnival that started at 4:30 p.m. Many clubs were invited out to participate in the parade and march alongside each other. There was also a banner competition among the clubs that participated in the event. The event was made possible by collaborating with Alhambra Police Department, AUSD District Board and the City of Alhambra.

“The clubs of our school played a very crucial role in this year’s homecoming. They participated in every aspect of homecoming. They walked in our parade, provided food and games at our carnival and dance, and performed at our halftime! If it weren’t for all the clubs on campus and the students in those clubs, Homecoming would not be what it is meant to be, a great experience for everyone involved,” Assistant to Commissioner of Clubs Agatha Handojo said.