It was a day full of games, cheers, face paint, baby powder and dancing as the seniors battled the underclassman for the glory of having the title of most spirited class and succeeded in winning the honor for the second year in a row. It was a day to remember for all students.

  The Homecoming celebration began with hoards of Disney characters flooded the hallways between Sept. 25-28. Students had the opportunity to display their school spirit through creative outfits correlating with the Homecoming theme: Once Upon A Homecoming. Every day, a girl and boy were voted on by the teachers for having the best costume.

  Freshman Emma Payne was one of the many students who went all out for spirit week, leading to her win for color war day.

  “I was honestly surprised when I won because I didn’t wear all green. I was happy that I won and chose to go all out with the glitter and paint and stuff. I knew that the upperclassman were going to do face paint and I wanted to top that,” said Payne

  With green, grey, white and black flooding downtown Warsaw during the annual Homecoming parade, everyone was in high hopes that their float would take home the win for their class.  The classes separated to build their floats. The freshmen float theme was “Phineas and Ferb,” the sophomore float theme was “Toy Story,” and the junior float theme was “Lion King.” Seniors took the win while hosting a Cinderella-themed float including Cinderella’s famous pumpkin carriage, Cinderella and Prince Charming, and a goal post supporting a giant storybook.

  “My favorite part of the parade was seeing all of my day care kids in the crowd. The only part I was nervous about was falling down from all of the stopping and going,” senior Megan Mantonya said. “ One word to summarize my Homecoming experience would be ‘enchanting’.”

  The parade also consisted of several school clubs and organizations, as well as sports, marching band, and cheerleading.

  “I felt great marching with the guard, it was fun and I enjoy doing it,” sophomore color guard member Sabrina Uptgraft said. “I always feel like I’m a part of something.”

  After the parade, students met up on the football field for the Homecoming assembly. Games, chants, and cheers echoed throughout the stadium.

  As the assembly was coming to an end, the final battle was about to take place between the senior and junior class to see who would take the win. Junior class, with their grade color being white, decided to step up the game by bringing baby powder to the assembly.

  “I think it was not necessary for juniors to use baby powder,” senior Madie Gardner said. “In my opinion, that was just childish. It didn’t make any noise, and they got really aggressive. They just threw the baby powder straight on us. How does that make you louder? Not to mention, there are chemicals in baby powder that are not safe to inhale.”

  “I wasn’t involved with the planning of the baby powder, I thought it was hilarious. It just kind of gave us an edge on the seniors and there was nothing harmful about it,” junior Kane Culbertson said. “The only risk I could see was if someone has asthma. I think juniors should have won – I guarantee we were louder.”

  Despite the competition and commotion over who was the best class, the seniors took the win for most spirited class.

  “Seniors winning Homecoming was well-deserved. We worked to win,” said senior Jessie Glenn.

  Hours after the assembly, the football boys hustled onto the field to take back their turf. The game resulted in a win against the Butler Bears, 54-14.

  During halftime of the football game, HOCO princess and queen candidates took to the field with grace as they waited to be crowned. Seniors Eli Hawkins and Jessie Glenn took the crowns for king and queen and juniors Chase Steiner and Ashten Cunningham won prince and princess royalty.

  “I was kind of surprised that I won, all the candidates that were running are my best friends so it wouldn’t have been a surprise if I lost to them,” Steiner said.

  Glenn was shocked when they called her name.

  “I didn’t think I had won. I was waiting for one of the other girls to walk up. But then everyone was looking at me and I was like ‘Oh, I won,’” Glenn said.

  After the game, students pooled into the high school cafeteria to show off their best moves at the Homecoming dance.

  “I really did enjoy the dance. Being new, I think it was interesting to meet new people at the dance. I feel like the dance is a really fun place to make your bond stronger with people you didn’t know,” junior foreign exchange student Lica Rosa said.

  New student council sponsors Kara Hill and Nathan Copling managed the ins and outs of one of the biggest events of the school year.

  “The hardest part about planning Homecoming was all of the tiny details that came with it, like the buses during the parade and the mini assemblies and collecting the questionnaires,” Hill said. “My favorite part about it all was watching the parade. I stood across the harbor and watched it. It was cool. I plan on doing it again next year.”