Homecoming is just around the corner, and Damascus High School is abuzz with excitement as preparations for the annual event draw near. Every year in the Fall, a weeklong festivity is held full of class spirit, hallway decorating, a big pep rally, and a football game all accumulating to an evening under the stars at the homecoming dance. This year the Homecoming Dance is being held on Oct. 19 and celebrations and events began on Oct. 11. Homecoming is an American tradition dating back to the 1920s and is a way to celebrate school spirit and pride. Homecoming takes a lot of work and preparation; some started to prepare in May of the previous school year, but it’s all thanks to the amazing people meticulously organizing Homecoming that it can be pulled off. Homecoming is mainly organized by the school’s SGA and class officers rally their classes together to prepare for the friendly competition against each other to see who has the most spirit and design a hallway following a designated class theme.
The Football Captain(s):
One of the events students are most excited about for homecoming is the big football game. The night before the dance, a home football game is played. Our Swarming Hornets will be facing off against the Clarksburg Coyotes. We interviewed Damascus’ football coach and two of their captains, Joshua Klotz, Jacy Andoh-Thompson, and Michael Cooley to look deeper into the football players’ perspectives on the field the night before homecoming. Team captain Andoh-Thompson has been the varsity football captain for one year and has been playing since 7th grade. Cooley has played football since kindergarten and has been the team captain for two years. When asked about whether the football team feels more pressure playing on homecoming night Cooley confidently responded, “I’d say we don’t face much pressure. I mean I guess it’s more intense ‘cause it’s homecoming week and there’s more people who will come to the game and that we play Clarksburg but there’s no pressure. If we do our job we should easily win.” Klotz is confident in continuing their streak of “never” losing a Homecoming game. Although the crowd size may be bigger, with many alumni attending the game, the homecoming game is like any other game, and they are confident about winning. As Klotz said, “Clarksburg is an easier game.” When asked about their upcoming game against their rival team, Andoh-Thompson and Cooley were certain that they would win against Clarksburg, even saying that they “would not consider
them a rival. They’re more like a little brother.” The Homecoming football game is sure to be an exciting match. “Just make sure people come to the game next week,” Andoh-Thompson adds. Come out and see the Damascus Hornets on Oct. 17!
All classes are super excited about homecoming but are wondering who is planning everything and whether homecoming decorations are going according to plan. Let’s see what the class presidents think about homecoming.
Freshman Class sponsor: Burkhalter
Freshman Class sponsor Ms. Burkhalter takes on the task of guiding the new class of 2028. She is confident that the Freshman class will be able to catch up to the other more experienced classes. Her favorite part of being the freshman class sponsor is introducing them to all things Homecoming; especially decorating the hallways, which they are very excited about. Although they are new to the high school environment and its traditions, they have good ideas and “are excited to make it come to life.” Ms. Burkhalter explains that preparations are a little difficult with freshmen because it’s their first time and they aren’t sure what to expect. On her last note, she encourages Freshman to help decorate and participate during spirit week.
Sophomore Class President (Tamara Thindwa):
Sophomore Class President Tamara Thindwa who is a 15-16 year old student at Damascus High School, who has held this position for 3 months. She loves to show her enthusiasm for her class and how their hallway decorations are going along. For Thindwa, decorating the hallways has proven to be a hard task, describing it as being “a little bit stressful…but [they’ve] been planning for a long time.” The Sophomores’ hallway theme is beach and Thindwa exclaims that she “[loves] the beach” and thinks that this year’s themes are “really fun and unique.” Thindwa and her class have been working hard, and Tamara reveals that she started planning in June. Overall, Tamara’s message for her class is clear—sophomores should come out and support their class by participating in Spirit Week and helping out with decorations. This year, the Sophomore class will be decorating the science hallway. Make sure to visit this hallway if you get the chance!
Junior Class President (Ryan Chidakel):
Ryan Chidakel is a 16-17 year old student at Damascus High School. He is also the Junior class president who loves engaging with his class and communicating ideas for events. Chidakel shared that the class of 2026 is “definitely still getting it all organized” but “aren’t fully there”. He urges his class to “come out” to decorate and participate throughout the week. Chidakel’s class officers “are designing a [HOCO] window” at Ledo’s. He encourages all of Damascus to “stop by Ledo’s” at the end of the week to “see a very decorated window.” He also wanted to give a special shout-out to all of his co-workers and fellow student staff members for working as a team to create the homecoming decorations.
Senior Class President (Nick Rameriez)
Homecoming is especially important to our seniors who have been here the longest. The class president for the senior class is Nick Rameriez, a 17-year-old student at DHS, who has held this position for the first time in his high school career. When Rameriez thinks his class “has a lot of spirit” but wishes they “had more.” Ramirez says his class is determined and “has a lot of drive…to push themselves to be the best that we can be.” He is very “excited to put it all together.” The senior class will decorate the English rotunda; Rameriez has taken “the measurements for every wall, every doorway, every alcove, every window, floor to ceiling” of the senior hallway. As a preview, Ramirez states that the senior homecoming hallway will have “carnival games and rides, a giant circus tent, trapeze artists, acrobats, contortionists, and a popcorn machine” and more! So make sure to come out there!
Here are some of the predictions of who is going to win the class spirit week:
Freshman: “As a freshman class sponsor, I would love to shock the world, and win ourselves.”
Sophomore: “Probably the seniors, ‘cause they win all the time.”
Junior: “Well I would hope we do. We have a lot of spirit, I love our class, the goal is for us to win!”
Senior: “It’s gonna be us…Especially with the prize on the line”
Principal:
Principal Rohner is among the many excited for homecoming this year because it’s his first homecoming at Damascus. One thing we can count on is his participation; says he is “going to participate in all of the events”. He is especially looking forward to bringing his kids along and showing them what homecoming is all about. He is willing to help and “if you put [him] to work [he] will do the work”. As for which class will win the grand prize, he will stay “100% neutral”; it’s certainly a smart decision. We, the students, are very thankful to have his support.
Who do you think is going to win the homecoming hallway?
