A Day to Remember- Poly Homecoming 2022

Written By: Kate Di Guglielmo, Chief Editor

Photos Taken By: Reagan Metzger, Sophomore Photographer

MEMORIES: On October 8, 2022, the Bears gathered all their Poly Pride and showed it off in a day of extravagant activities.

Rise and shine! At 8:00 in the morning at Immanuel Lutheran Elementary School, convertibles and prom dresses lined the parking lot as students prepared to drive down Central, escorted like royalty. With Our very own Song and Cheer teams dancing down the streets, joined by the Gage Middle Schools Dance Team, Poly displayed their pride in every way possible. All Homecoming nominees waved at the crowds from the back of their elegant cars as the water polo and football team tossed mini water polo balls and candy to children lining the sidelines. It was an excellent morning and definitely worth the early wake up for the students in the parade.

All Poly Homecoming Club Nominees.

Not only was the parade a unique and fun way for the students to dress up, dance, and enjoy their time with each other, but it also gave parents and other spectators the chance to see what the students spent their hard work on all week – Their floats! As the board game themed floats made their way towards Poly, the two most popular floats (the senior Candyland float and the sophomore Game of Life float) received cheers so loud they could break windows. And although the freshman and junior floats were not as highly spoken about as the senior and sophomores, they still looked amazing and will be remembered forever. (All Floats will be shown at the bottom of the Article.)

Directly following the parade, the club nominees rushed onto the Poly campus and began quickly setting up their booths for the Carnival! At the Carnival there was food, water balloon fights, dancing, and the caricature booth run by the Poly Spotlight (which in my biased opinion was the best!) Also taking place towards the middle of the Carnival was the Lip Sync Contest where various clubs preformed their best attempts to dance and sing to a song of their choosing. Winning the contest was the Principle Centered Leadership Club (PCL) who danced and sung to the well-loved song from Teen Beach Movie “Crusin’ to The Bruisin’”. They advanced to perform a second time during the pregame show before the football game. Taylor Nelson, a senior at Poly and a performer for PCL displays her appreciation for her class and those who voted for her as she really “enjoyed performing and was excited to win.” Congratulations to PCL for doing such an amazing job at both of their well displayed performances.

PCL preforming “Crusin’ to The Brusin'”

With a mere six and a half hour break (which seems a lot longer than it felt), the nominees were at King High School once again dressing their best and lining the lower portion of the bleachers. After the Cheer and Dance Team performed their Clue themed dance, PCL once again rocked to the music of “Crusin’ to The Bruisin’” for the pre-game show. Soon after the performances, the game began.

Starting the game with a touchdown by Rancho Christian in the first quarter, pushed Poly to work even harder and deny any other chance for Rancho to score against them for the rest of the game. Bears with the WIN! Throughout the second quarter the Bears began to get closer and closer to the end zone and scored a touchdown right before halftime! Which made the announcement of homecoming King and Queen even more exciting.

Poly Bears preparing for the game.

To start off the show, ASB announced the winning float, which was (not surprisingly) the senior class float, created to resemble a Poly version of Candyland. The Senior class worked all week long striving to finally win the competition, and according to Hannah Wadding (12), it was worth “getting no sleep during the week,” to win. After a few minutes of the loud cheers from the seniors, the nominees began their walk.

Song and Cheer Preforming their “Clue” themed dance.

Name by name the clubs walked out taking the formation they had so gracefully practiced, leading into the top five senior male and female nominees being called to take their places in the middle of the field to dance. Pierre Shwabe , Ethan Jackson, James Luna, Josh Lopez, Alexander Garcia, Emily Lopez, Hannah Wadding, Xuan-ahn Biggs, Zuriah Causey, and Sydnee Salcedo lined up in two lines and performed their Top Ten Dance, then awaited patiently to hear which two would be called and named King and Queen. In a moment of ambiance, Sydnee Salcedo and Josh Lopez won the crowns. Salcedo who says winning Queen was one of the most “memorable experiences of her life” did not even expect to win, which made her crowning even more special. She expresses how “it was an honor for ASB to nominate her and everyone around her made the entire experience more memorable.” Lopez who literally jumped with joy was immediately covered in hugs and congratulations by fellow nominees, this will no doubt be an unforgettable experience for him.

Salcedo and Lopez bathing in Royalty.

As for the Top Ten who did not take home a crown, they were still overjoyed to have the experience of making it so far. Shwabe explains how they “were not upset not to be chosen, rather happy to be in that moment in time.” They were “I was living through a moment I know I’ll remember forever.” Agreeing with her, Wadding was “truly grateful to make the Top Five” and will think back to this day for the rest of her life.

The game ended with a great win and comeback for the Bears, winning thirty-one to seven, overall it was a great day for the Poly community. Thank you to ASB who planned the day and spent countless hours organizing everything. Thank you to those who offered their houses for the students to build their floats at. Lastly, thank you to the students who helped set up, built floats, and who came and enjoyed all the festivities, creating a memorable energy and experience for everyone. Happy Homecoming Bears!