Students enjoy the Homecoming dance in the fieldhouse.
In a display of school spirit, Grayslake North celebrated its annual Homecoming and festivities. The day before the dance, a vibrant parade kicked off the weekend. It went through the parking lot on Friday featuring colorful golf carts created by clubs and sports.
“Tuesday night was supposed to be the bonfire, but that got rained out. Wednesday night was our powderpuff games. Thursday night we had the golf cart decorating, pack the place for volleyball, and then the bonfire. (Friday) we had the pep assembly, the parade, and the football game. Then (Saturday) we had the dance,” said activities director Keeley Naughton.
Students had been reminiscing about the unforgettable experience they had during last year’s Homecoming festivities and were very excited for this year.
“I went to the last Homecoming, and it was a vibe. I had a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun helping out my friends to ask girls to Hoco,” said sophomore Javier Villegas.
The highlight on Friday was the highly anticipated football game as the Knights went against their rivals the Lakes Eagles.
There were many changes for this year’s Homecoming that brought in a lot of excitement.
“Last year the dance was outside, so this year we are bringing it back in, and we might decide to do it outside next year and kind of rotate. To give the students a different environment, we’re bringing it inside. We have a new DJ. In the aux gym, there (were) tables to sit and chill with ping pong, bags, and different games. Concessions (were) open, which have never been opened during the Homecoming dance. There (were) also two different photo booths to take pictures at,” Naughton said.
The shift to an indoor setting generated a lot of curiosity and interest among the students.
“We put it out to the student body last year to have them vote. Do you want it inside or do you want outside, and inside won. Outside was only ever a thing because of COVID, so we really pivoted to outside because of the COVID protocols. But now assigning DJs, a lot of them won’t play outside because if there’s rain it would take like five hours to set up their equipment,” said Student Council sponsor Ashley Kopecky.
“With the football game and the dance, we utilized a new system of scanning in. So each student had to bring their ID to the dance and the football game in order to enter, and that’s just so we can see what’s going on and who should be there and who shouldn’t,” Kopecky said.
Overall, at the dance, students had a great time this Homecoming.
“I thought it was fun. I had a lot of fun this year going with my friends. I thought the DJ was decent. He was better than last year and played good songs,” said junior Matthew Myszka.
