Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Top of the class

Letting their colors fly

As Hernando High gears up for homecoming week, the school spirit is unmistakable.

By MATHEW WASSERMAN
Published October 13, 2005

	[Times photo: Edmund Fountain]
	The hands of Hernando High School student Latoya Patrick, 17, attach paper towels to a structure of chicken wire and cardboard, which will become a mushroom to ride atop the DECA club's Smurf-themed float at the schools homecoming parade. Latoya said she may have already attached 1,000 paper towels to the mushroom.

As homecoming week approaches at Hernando High School, the school's DECA club is preparing for its biggest show yet.

"This year we plan on maintaining the tradition of another fabulous float and car show," said Carol Short, DECA adviser, marketing teacher and on-the-job coordinator.

When the homecoming parade makes its way down Howell Avenue at 1 p.m. Oct. 21, it will look a little more animated than usual.

"The theme for this parade is cartoons," said Jason Galitsky, student government adviser and world history teacher. "Each of the school's different clubs is decorating a float. We should have 30 to 40 floats, ranging from superheroes to Warner Bros. cartoons."

When the big blue Smurfs in mushroom houses glide by, that will be DECA's newest creation.

"I didn't even know what Smurfs were, but then I saw a picture and remembered them from a long time ago," said Jason Pelham, an 18-year-old DECA member and reporter for the club's newsletter, the DECA Chronicle. "When I saw them, I thought it was a cute idea. It's original."

DECA member Stephanie Rodgers, 16, said club members have been working on the float for days. It gets better each day, she said, but also more complicated.

"I think the hardest part is over now, which was setting up the wiring," Rodgers said. "But now we're building the mushroom house, which is also really difficult. But it's all coming together."

Short has been working on DECA floats with her students for the five years she has been at Hernando High. She says this year's float is one of the most labor-intensive.

"Each Smurf on the float is dressed for their career," Short said. "For example, we have a dentist, a chef, a computer technician and other Smurfs all dressed for whatever work they do."

Hernando High is the only school in the county that has a homecoming parade with floats. The floats help raise school spirit, Short said.

"It unquestionably brings people together," she said. "The school spirit is palpable. It's truly a wonderful exercise in organization and timeliness. It forces students to be selfless because it's not about getting out of class to work on a project; it's about giving up your lunchtime to work on a project."

For the past two years, DECA has won the competition for best float, and club members are hoping to extend that streak. But what is equally important is expanding the tradition of the club's car show, which has been a Hernando High homecoming staple for five years.

The car show will take place on Wednesday at the school, with about 40 cars involved. All the usual categories will be represented: the classics, "the dirtiest car," the "car most likely not to make it home" and many others, including one new category, the "hoopti."

"The "hoopti' is our new category, and it should really be a lot of fun," Short said. "This is a car where the radio or the rims are worth more money than the car itself."

Since Short began coordinating the car show, she said the only thing that has changed is the popularity.

"When I first did this, there were only three entries for the dirtiest car," she said. "Now it's our most popular category."

The grand prize of the car show is the Students' Choice Award. For this category, students put money into a jar, and the owner of the car that is voted the all-around favorite gets the money and a trophy. A trophy is also awarded to the winner of each category.

DECA is also hosting a pie-throwing booth at the homecoming fair at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

"The pie-throwing station is a really good time," Short said. "Students get to throw pies in their friends' faces, and sometimes even teachers volunteer."

The car show and pie-throwing booth will help raise money for DECA to pay for homecoming and future activities, and for the student government association.

This year's homecoming will also feature a football game against Nature Coast Technical High School at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, a dance at 8 p.m. Oct. 22, a student comedy presentation called the Growl and a fireworks display at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 and the revival of the bonfire at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

"The bonfire hasn't been here in 25 years," Galitsky said. "A lot of teachers and administrators went to school here, and they had the bonfire when they were students. It's just bringing back a sense of nostalgia."

Be it nostalgia, competition or spirit, one of the main purposes of homecoming is to have some fun.

"It will bring the school together," Rodgers said. "And I hope it brings laughter because we all need that."

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 01:11:19]