Homecoming is an essential part of the beginning of the school year. Everyone loves it and looks forward to spending time with their friends at the dance. Homecoming took place on October 9, 2021 and was stationed outside on the football field.

One of the differences this year is that the Student Council had to work around the pandemic and think outside the box. They added more activities, like more food options and hangout spots. This attracted more people to come to Homecoming and it created a lot of excitement about going to the first dance since COVID-19 shut everything down.

Keeley Naughton is the student activities director at Grayslake North. Her role takes a lot of time and dedication. She is one of the people organizing things behind the scenes of the fun school activities.
“Everyone is excited for the game and the dance, and I see everyone dressing up. It’s just a crazy week, but it’s one of my favorite weeks of the school year,” Naughton said.

Student Council plays a big role in planning Homecoming. They are in charge of the themes for spirit week and they make sure the dance receives a lot of excitement from students.

“I definitely felt like it was worth going to the dance, especially since we didn’t have one last year. And for the senior class, as it is their last Homecoming,” said Student Council president Julia Jose.

COVID-19 has been causing the whole world trouble for the past year. It has caused many organizations, businesses, and schools to shut down. Having this school year back and to continue school traditions is great news. It was obvious Grayslake North worked really hard to make this dance one to remember.

“This year’s dance was really fun. I personally liked how it was outside because it’s nice to have fresh air rather than being locked up in a gym,” said senior Matt Nixon.

Many students seemed to enjoy this year’s Homecoming, and students from different schools were able to go as well. Many people gave positive feedback. Matt Nixon also described his night as “really lit,” which is slang for a great time and having fun.

Grayslake North put in a lot of effort to do a great job with hosting a safe Homecoming, as COVID-19 has put many obstacles in place when planning large events during this time.

“The biggest challenge was planning the dance to be outside, as we were unsure whether the weather would work out or if we would have a dance at all,” Jose said.

The 2021 Homecoming dance will go down in history as one of the best due to the time it took to be organized and how it was perfectly planned.

“The entire dance went perfect. It was great having it outside with no bad weather and the decorations were amazing. Everything went according to plan,” Jose said.

Last year, the seniors were not able to have a Homecoming, which was really unfortunate. Luckily, the opportunity was presented for this year’s seniors. Grayslake North was able to provide a memorable dance and many this year were happy about it.