Gabriella Parini Cardova contributed to this article
Homecoming is one of the few nights each year where students can come together and have fun. The school is decorated with streamers and filled with smiles on everyone’s faces, as people talk and dance with their friends, dressed in their best attire.
This year the Class of 2025 decided on a Masquerade theme. “We were bouncing around a lot of ideas, like neon glow-in-the-dark, Disney, country-western, just a bunch of different ideas,” explained class advisor, Courtney Braz. She continued, “It was the student council that really liked the idea of masquerade, which was why we went with it and it ended up being so cute.” President Christina Anasthal added, “Out of all the themes we talked about, we felt like Masquerade is versatile and would cater to everyone.”
Masquerades aren’t only about dressing nicely; they also involve the masks people usually wear at a masquerade-themed party. Bertha Jean Louis mentioned that this idea was used for pro a few years ago, but “nobody really went along with it, so we made sure to get masks and all of that stuff. We wanted something that people would find fun and want to post about.”
“When I heard the theme was a Masquerade ball, I got super excited because it was different and people could actually participate. This theme seemed like it would actually make people want to go to Homecoming,” Senior Samara Perez detailed.
The Class of 2025 had many ideas this year but wanted to do things differently even suggesting a venue, but that didn’t work out because “if we wanted to earn more money back it was a safer option for it to be in the courtyard. Also, we felt that the courtyard could quite honestly look very nice and give a different feel with the right decorations and care put into it,” stated Vice President Saniah Charles.
The Class of 2025 council and advisors were happy with how Homecoming went this year. “They had many food options, and the music kept the crowd active,” stated Jean Louis. Braz mentioned how she loved that some of the songs she was “going crazy for in high school were the same songs that a lot of the kids here were going crazy for. Mr. Grinnell and I were like, ‘Why do they know all the words to Clarity and Call Me Maybe…what year is it!?’”
Even though Homecoming was a lot of fun, the council and advisors still felt that there could be improvement in some areas. “One thing I would do differently is how much we advertised. We should’ve advertised it a lot more and started posting sooner,” Jena Louis claimed. By posting sooner the word could have spread more and allowed for more people to come. “I think we had about 400 students show up which was really, really good. I think that the students that went had a good time,” Robert Grinnell said.
Another big topic for the night and all the dances at Malden High School is the music that is played. There were many mixed opinions but everyone agreed that there should have been “better communication for the playlist because there did tend to be lots of like people asking for song requests,” Charles explained.
The council and advisors wish they would’ve carried this out differently even suggesting a “poll for song requests earlier because we ended up not having enough time. And so at the dance I had like a bunch of kids running up to me requesting songs,” described Braz. Perez continued on this though and said, “I was overhearing that many people didn’t like some of the songs. Also maybe make the food prices go down a little, many people didn’t buy the food due to the prices or they didn’t know that people actually had to buy the food.”
Junior Rachel Lanza agreed with these sentiments. “Even though people kept requesting music it wasn’t being played which was very disappointing; it also felt like they would move the music and not play it if someone asked for a song they said they put it on the queue but then it would never play which brought the mood down to me and many, many other students there, ” said Lanza. Communication with both students and council members was huge for this dance and for the two aspects that draw people in the most, they were lacking. Even with these downsides the dance was still amazing and allowed for an open community to develop with students.
Christina Anasthal and Brian Jose posing for a picture. GABRIELA PARINI CORDOVA
Overall, Homecoming was a huge success that can be used as a learning experience and a pat on the back to the Class of 2025 as they put out a wonderful Homecoming with lots of effort and time. “I think the best part was just seeing all the kids dancing and having fun because you know, it just takes you back,” mentioned Braz. She continued, “Anytime that we have the opportunity to make the students of this school feel like they’re a part of a community is like a blessing.”
