On Feb. 11, senior Jenna Jones earned the 2021 Basketball Homecoming crown. The special Thursday night ceremony was held in the activities center.

      Traditionally, the homecoming ceremony takes place at halftime during the boys game. This year, construction prompted the teams to play their games in surrounding junior highs with smaller gym capacity limits. Thus, the ceremony became its own event and was held in the activities center. 

   “Due to limited capacity in closed spaces because of COVID, we just decided to make homecoming its own event which was a little stressful because we had to make it over-the-top so the people in attendance really had fun,” Smith said.

   During the ceremony, all of the homecoming court maids were announced and presented. Spectators were allowed to either watch on a livestream or come in person with all seats six feet apart. 

   “I really was not expecting them to announce my name. When they said my name I was completely shocked and so happy, the best feeling, though, was knowing how proud my family was of me,” Jones said

   A tie between senior maids also created a unique situation before the final vote.

   “This year was different because we actually had a tie in the running for homecoming court between two senior maids so we had to have a runoff election on the following Monday,” Student Council sponsor Zoe Smith said.

   Student Council gave students the chance to take part in the festivities with a hall parade which featured the maids and music. During the virtual pep rally, the maids were introduced along with the sponsor of the nominees club.  

   “I liked walking the band’s nominee during the pep rally. It’s the first time I’ve done anything like that and I really just enjoyed being able to participate,” director Ron Lewis said. 

   The ceremony took place after the pep rally. To prepare for it, Student Council secretary senior Lauren Redding worked alongside district Director of Athletics Michael Beaumont in organizing the logistics.

   “As a Student Council officer I was in charge of homecoming, I was responsible for planning and organizing homecoming in a safe but memorable way, which was challenging because of COVID-19. However, we ensured that we spaced the chairs out to maintain a distance, live streamed everything, and obtained half capacity to keep everyone safe. We implemented new traditions so homecoming could be held memorably and safely,” senior Lauren Redding said.