Setting up Homecoming Week
Examining the process for preparing class skits
With scripts in hand, seniors Jaewon Shim (right) and Darpan Singh (left) practice their lines for the skit.
October 10, 2022
With Homecoming Week kicking off today, Oct. 10, a common sentiment among those participating and organizing the events is that there is a struggle to get ready and excitement to showcase everyone’s hard work. Junior and girls dance lead Gracie Lee explains that there has been a drop in preparation from the previous year. Yet, she also shared that everyone involved was putting in effort and working hard.
For senior and co-ed dance lead Kayla Chang, communication was the first challenge she had to overcome due a higher turnout of participants for the 2023 skit compared to the year before. A microphone provided to her became a quick fix for that issue, and she soon turned her attention to making sure that the choreography was accessible.
“I’m making sure that [the dance] looks good, but is a bit harder than last year’s,” Chang said. “It also has to be simple enough so that people can pick [the moves] up: repetitive moves, but also challenging footwork.”
With a goal in mind of having his class win best performance for their skit, junior and boys dance lead Pranai Raina says the final task of the group is to get in sync. With help from his peers, it took Raina two and a half weeks to create the choreography, and he believes that his group has now mastered it.
“Everyone in the group is putting in their A game, trying to do the best they can in front of the audience and trying to make our class win,” Raina said. “Because that’s the whole point — to win the competition.”
Energizing the crowd is a priority for sophomore and dancer Ninad Suresh, as he believes that having an upbeat attitude will excite the audience. Furthermore, he thinks that the group has been making progress in their practices.
“At first it was kind of disorganized and we were behind,” Suresh said. “[But] I feel like we’re starting to catch up now that we’re having practice on weekends.”
Freshman and class officer Shivansh Kelkar’s main focus lies on organizing the skit. With consistency and planning ahead, he believes that the Class of 2026 can meet the deadline of Oct. 12. Kelkar’s primary concern was the unfamiliarity freshmen had with Homecoming, but he believes this issue was solved through assistance from upperclassmen.
“The leadership class has helped us a lot,” Kelkar said. “They have given us the supplies and they told us how to do [plan Homecoming]. It’s definitely not possible without them or the help from the school.”
