The days leading up to homecoming are just as important to Southern Lehigh as the game or dance. First-time participants in outlandish spirit days learn the value of school pride, while upperclassmen get to treasure and reflect on their experiences. Students and staff say they are grateful for the opportunities to develop positive connections and memories in the days leading up to the Friday night lights.  

 Spirit days are an excellent way for students and the occasional faculty member to show off and create a sense of community through slightly awkward shared embarrassment. The celebrations before homecoming are famous for sharing enthusiasm between grades leading to better morale and a louder student section. 

“I do think there’s something nice about students, staff, and faculty getting involved and doing things in the school,” social studies teacher Mr. Lee Zeisloft said. “The fact that we have students supporting their peers is just good for the high school experience. I think it’s a great opportunity for students to buy back into the school.”

Along with a small team of student-athletes, sixteen-year Varsity Club advisor Mr. Zeisloft is responsible for the preparation and execution of all things concerning the pep rally. 

“The battle of the classes —more recently class dances— is what the students really seem to enjoy,” Mr. Zeisloft said. “It’s a little tradition that we do and, of course, the teachers do a little dance too.”

Each grade must represent their class at the pep rally, which usually involves nostalgic songs, popular dances, and media. Creative performances encourage students to feel more comfortable with themselves and their peers, leading to a better atmosphere in the halls, classroom, dance floor, and stadium.

“The hosts always do a good job every year, it’s engaging and the teachers dance. It’s probably the best part [of the rally],” senior quarterback and homecoming court candidate Avery Koser said.

 This year’s pep rally hosts, seniors Nick Ventresca, Jack Johnson, and Helena Calaba, helped to energize and inform students and staff. While congratulating the girls’ and boys’ sports teams on their success, they also cracked a few jokes, such as clearing up any email problems that may have occurred while seeking to reach Principal Joshua Miller rather than his student counterpart with the same name, senior Joshua Miller.

The Class of 2023 selected twenty possible candidates for the homecoming court. Often easily identifiable, they spent the weeks before homecoming carrying decorated coffee cans to collect donations for a worthy cause of their choosing. Unlike prior years, the top six, rather than five, male and female fundraisers qualified for voting as king and queen. These official court members waited in anticipation as the entire student body was asked to vote for their choice.  

This year, Cohen Resch was voted Homecoming King and proudly accepted his crown at the pep rally while waving peace signs to the cheering crowd. Later in the evening at the football game, last year’s queen, Maddie Zeidenberg, crowned an enthusiastic Haylee Graham as the newest Homecoming Queen.