It is that time of year for RM students to demonstrate their Rocket Pride. Many students will be participating in the spirit week leading up to the festivities of Homecoming dance on October 3rd, including the Homecoming football game against Walter Johnson and the themed days during spirit week.

The theme of this year’s Homecoming week is Road Trip, which exemplifies the adventurous nature of Richard Montgomery Students. The freshmen class will don outfits and decorate their halls like true Texans. Sophomore class members will bring the spirit of the D.C-Maryland-Virginia area to the school. Juniors will heat up the hallways with their Californian theme. Finally, seniors will pay tribute to one the most iconic locations in America, New York. This year, class theme day will be on Thursday, October 1, with hallway decorations happening after school on Thursday. Students will have a chance to improve the experience of spirit week through their own imagination by creating hall decorations corresponding to the themes of their grade levels.

Students will also have the opportunity to display their school spirits in the other days of the week as well. On Monday, students will have the traditional class color day. Freshmen will wear orange, sophomore will don green, juniors will wear red, and seniors will don blue. Many students are competing with each other to show their best class spirit. Junior Sofia Bhalwani says her way of demonstrating her class spirit will be “to wear as much red clothing as possible.” Face paint will be permitted but students must do this before arriving to school.

On Tuesday, students will wear tie-dye shirts. Seniors, however, will be having their traditional Toga Day to mark their academic achievements like the Greeks of the old. As always, seniors will still have to wear clothing underneath their toga to comply with school policy.

Wednesday’s theme is called Dapper Day, where students will “dress to impress,” said senior PJ Corr in the SGA student assembly. Students can go all out for suits and ties or just wear clothes that are semi-formal. However, many students will share the opinion of senior Lilian Wang, who believes that “dressing up for school can be hassle” and that she prioritizes comfort over formality.  

Following Dapper Day is Theme Day on Thursday. Similar to class color day, each grade level has its own theme. Freshman will don cowboy vests and dress as if they are from Texas. Sophomores will have it easy and just have to wear clothing related to the DMV area. Juniors will dress as if they were from California. Last but not least, the senior class will dress as if they were from New York.

Friday will be Black and Gold Day, where students get to display Rocket Pride by wearing the school’s signature colors or any other clothing affiliated with school athletics or clubs. This year marks a special change to the pep rally as the boisterous event will be held outside (weather permitting) for the first time in the many years of this school tradition. Senior Weiting Tung applauds the change because “everyone can attend at the same time as one whole RMHS student body.” In addition, class competitions will happen during the pep rally itself, schoolwide SGA president Zack Khan said, in order to increase the fervor of the event. The school’s talented POMS and Cheer squads will also liven up the pep rally with their amazing choreographed performances.

As tradition dictates, the BOMS squad will grace the field to deliver the tantalizing finale to the pep rally. Senior Ninad Nirgudkar, commenting on his experience in the squad, says that “every member of the squad is like a brother and the energy is amazing.” He also praises the passion displayed by BOMS squad captain Perry Simon, who always ends each practice session with inspirational phrases like “It’s game time” to erase any trace of nervousness among the squad members. BOMS squad will be bringing its best talent to ensure that this year’s pep rally will the special one that stands out from all previous pep rallies.

The joy and fun of the spirit week will end with the arrival of the Homecoming dance on Saturday. As per usual, guests to the dance must donate a can of food in addition to the required ticket payment to contribute to Richard Montgomery’s positive impact on the communities around the school. The dance itself will feature decorations that follow the theme of Road Trip and will have music provided by Richard Montgomery’s Rocket Music Collective club. This year’s spirit week and Homecoming dance will surely provide a memorable experience for many students at Richard Montgomery.  

Check out the spirit week video created by our Student Government Association!