It’s 8 p.m. at the A La Carte Pavilion. Rented buses and cars are unloading students at the Egyptian Shrine Center. Teachers and administration members, including Principal Johnny Bush, stand ready. Homecoming has started. Homecoming is the first major school function of the year, and some students eagerly wait for homecoming to come around.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now,” senior Jacquelyn Tawil said.

Many students experience homecoming as a member of a group of their friends.

“Go with a group,” Tawil said. “It’s the most fun that way.”

“I like being in a group because you have people to talk to,” said freshman Mateo Craig.

“[If you come in a group] there’s no pressure in entertaining your date for so long,” junior Tee Chulikavit said.

Students’ homecoming plans often extend well beyond the dance itself. Dancing at the pavilion with the other attendees makes up only a small part of the homecoming experience for the majority of the student body.

“We went to a restaurant and ate a lot of sushi,” sophomore Nadia Gersholowitz said. “We’re going bowling afterwards.”

“Before we got here, we had a limo and went around to take pictures at all these different places,” junior Mary Claire Foley said.

Some upperclassmen also reflected on this being their last homecoming.

“I think it’s a lot more fun because it’s the last,” senior Adeliese Pacheco said. “It makes it special; it’s better than the other ones.”

“It’s a lot like the other ones I’ve been to, but it definitely is different because I’m a senior,” Tawil said.

Homecoming is put on almost exclusively by the student-run Executive Board.

“E-Board does all of it,” Teresa Cozzi said. “[They] hire people, get the DJ. Administration and teachers don’t set it up, just help chaperone.”

This homecoming met and exceeded all expectations that had been set for it.

“We had no incidents or problems,” Cozzi said. “We had good turnout. There were lots of kids there until the end.”

Seniors Hunter Owens and Morgan Tankersley were crowned homecoming king and queen.