Homecoming is a tradition in the U.S.A. and Canada to welcome back former students to a new school or college year. At Goffstown High School, homecoming is an old tradition that evolved over time.

Ms. McKinnon, a teacher at GHS for over 18 years, says that Homecoming  at GHS began just as a welcoming assembly. The principal, Frank McBride, says that everything began when football arrived in the school around 15 years ago.

About five years ago, the school began picking a theme for the class dance competition during the assembly and also opened the competition to all classes, not just seniors. Also, the homecoming dance, the one on Saturday night, was just a fall dance, that changed to a Hocoming Dance with the introduction of Homecoming.

In the last few years, students developed the idea of a “Penny Slam.” This is a fundraiser in which the classes can earn or lose points for the challenge. Everything began in 2017, when a student wanted to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Maria, so they thought about it. Last year, GHS raised over 2,000 dollars. This year they collected over 2,600 dollars.

Ms. Mckinnon reveals that her favorites dress up days are those that require the creativity of the students. She’s been organizing this event since 2010/2011 which was her first year as Student Council advisor. She says “Organizing the assembly for over 1,000 students and making sure that everything goes well is really stressful. Homecoming is really hard for me and all the students in the Homecoming commitee.” But she’s not the only teacher involved in Hoco. Lots of teachers love to have fun in the assembly and play the games with the students; students love to see teachers involved and have spirit. Principal McBride says: “As a dad, I like to be involved in my kids lives, so I think it’s good to be involved and be part of this with students.”

One other aspect that has evolved over the years are the class colors. Seniors have always been white, but the other classes have changed their color for the assembly. It was very expensive for kids to have another dress up day, so the committee decided to choose a color and make the same t-shirts for everyone so students can wear the shirts for Winter Carnival too.

Ms. McKinnon and Mr. McBride both agree that the best aspect of the Homecoming celebration is the show of school spirit from the students, the bond that they create between one another, and the unity of the classes. As Mr. McBride says, students have the opportunity to enjoy the concept of class, community, and coming together in the spirit of fun. He claims, “Homecoming is the best representation of who we are.”