The annual RM Spirit Week and Homecoming festivities remain one of RM’s most popular school events. With students welcoming the first week of October with enthusiasm, this year proved to be no different.

On Monday’s ‘Merica Day, students dressed in red, white, blue to show their patriotism and spirit. While Tuesday was Meme day for the underclassmen and juniors, the seniors continued their tradition of Toga Day.

Engaged in class competitions to show off their spiritwear, students were especially excited for Wednesday’s Class Color Day. Thursday’s Decades Day was followed by Friday’s Black and Gold day, which unified the entire school once again before the homecoming football game.

For all students, this week served as a wonderful opportunity to display their school spirit. “I really like spirit week. I think it’s a really fun time for grades to bond and do something together, and some of us may have even gone overboard with all of our crazy costumes and makeup and face paint,” senior Rachel Pollock said.

Freshman Jeremey Kusnetsov added, “I especially liked Class Colors Day and Meme Tuesday. It’s really fun and entertaining to see what other people come up with. I’d definitely like to see those two spirit days next year again.”

On Friday’s half day, students attended the Fall Pep Rally, which featured performances from the cheerleaders, Poms squad, and the Boms squad, as well as competitive games between the sports captains. Later that night, RM students were overjoyed to watch RM’s varsity football team win decisively over Whitman, 28-14.

The Homecoming dance took place October 7 from 8-11 PM. The theme this year was Blast from the Past, with the class themes ranging from the 50s to the 80s. A week prior to the Homecoming dance, student volunteers from all grade levels gathered to decorate hallways or provide donations to hurricane relief funds. Many of these themed decorations proved to be popular photo backgrounds.

However, the overall course of events was not affected by the Homecoming theme. Sophomore Rob Kearns explained, “It was basically the same as last year. The theme didn’t change much of the actual content.”

Similar to last year, the dance floor in the gym was packed with students, often singing and dancing along to the music played by the DJ. Tired students could take a break at the concessions table, which served a variety of snacks and drinks.

With its fun props and background scenes, the photobooth continuously attracted groups of students throughout the dance. Junior Emily Yuan said, “The photo booth was so fun. I loved it! Except the photos took forever to print.”

Towards the end of the night, students separated into two lines for the Homecoming Court couples to walk down the middle. The couples were met with warm, welcoming cheers from the audience as they displayed their dance moves.

Homecoming was a highly enjoyable experience that encouraged students to socialize with people outside of their normal friend group.

“I’m really happy with how Homecoming turned out,” SGA School President Albert Zhang said, “It was such a big success and I’m glad so many people got to participate in it and help us fundraise money for those in need.”