Homecoming week continues

Students at Mountain Home High School continued to showcase their Tiger spirit this week as they prepared for this year's fall homecoming.

The week-long celebration culminates Friday evening as the Mountain Home Tigers take on the Columbia Wildcats at Tiger Field.

Events this year center around the high school's homecoming theme, "In Every World, Tigers are #1." Each class took that theme to heart as they put their talents to work translating those words into various creations, which remain on display at the high school and across Mountain Home.

The yearly homecoming preparations started Friday as members from each class started to decorate the windows of four, local-area businesses. Among them were seniors Savannah Cook, Emily Gillies and Amy St. John, who were busy painting a scene from Alice in Wonderland on a window of the Jackson Street Sweets store in the city's downtown area. Several few blocks away, others like sophomore Kauchana Buchholz were busy bringing the world of Willi Wonka's chocolate factory to life on the window of the local Lucky Perk and TCBY shop on American Legion Boulevard.

Meanwhile, students from each class spent the weekend transforming the hallways of the high school into various depictions of fictional worlds from popular children's books. Each year, the classes deck out their own hallways with posters, trinkets and baubles related to the homecoming theme.

In the senior hallway, for example, senior Jacci Cristobal was busy painting simulated bricks on the castle wall for the Queen of Hearts. The senior class chose the story "Alice in Wonderland" as the inspiration for their hallway design.

However, the graduating class faced plenty of competition from their under classmen, each one hoping to secure their own bragging rights. For example, juniors like Maeghan Pomerantz were recreating the magical Land of Oz based on L. Frank Baum's series of books.

Around the corner in the sophomore hallway, meanwhile, the students had already created the chocolate river featured during the journey through Willi Wonka's fictional factory. With that step out of the way, Zach Hudson and other sophomores spent Saturday afternoon laying out the rest of the magical place.

This year also marked the fourth consecutive year the freshmen class joined the hallway decorating competition following their move to the high school in 2009. Staying true to the fantasy world motif, they decked out the hallway in the school annex in a depiction of the post-apocalyptic world featured in the Hunger Games series of novels.

Athletic competitions will continue to highlight the competitive spirit of homecoming week. Action began Monday evening during the annual macho man volleyball match that pitted the seniors against the juniors. With the wins knotted at two apiece after four games, the juniors rallied in the final contest to post a 15-10 win to sweep the match.

These friendly competitions continued Tuesday afternoon as the sophomore, junior varsity and varsity volleyball squads competed in the high school gym.

Events will move to Tiger Field today, Sept. 11, as the school's female juniors and seniors compete in this year's powder puff football contest. Members of the school's football squads will serve as coaches during the game, which begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $2 or a donation of two canned goods per person.

The interschool sports action continues Thursday, Aug. 12, as the varsity and junior varsity soccer teams compete at 4:30 p.m. at Eastside Park.

Another homecoming tradition started Monday after the school announced its candidates for this year's royal court. Men and women from each class were selected by their classmates during the annual voting.

School officials will crown this year's homecoming king and queen and the rest of the royal court at halftime during the homecoming game.

Also this week, students demonstrated their Tiger pride by participating in daily theme events. It began Monday with a "generation day" dress-up event with the freshman class hosting a three-legged race competition during lunchtime. In recognition of the day's theme, members of the freshmen class dressed up as babies, sophomores came as toddlers, juniors decked themselves out as adults while the seniors dressed up as senior citizens.

Tuesday's theme focused on "nerd day" with the sophomore class scheduling a water balloon toss over the lunch break. The theme for today, Sept. 11, focused on the phrase, "Would you still be my friend if I wore *that*?"

The yearly dress-up day continues Thursday during "Disney day" with the senior class planning to host a musical chairs competition featuring cake prizes. Later that day, students will join forces to decorate the high school gym in preparation for the following day's pep rally.

Homecoming week moves into full gear Friday afternoon with a homecoming assembly in the high school gym. Students are encouraged to show up that day in their orange and black attire as part of this year's Tiger Day.

The homecoming parade through town will continue at 2 p.m. The Mountain Home Tigers then put their pride on the line as they take on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. that evening.

Homecoming week winds down during the fall homecoming dance, which runs from 9 p.m. to midnight that night in the high school gym.

For more information on homecoming week, call the high school at 587-2570 or go online to www.mtnhomesd.org and select the Mountain Home High School link.