Photo by Katherine Huang
Peter Pan flies into homecoming rally
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Anticipation built up as students filed into the balloon streamed Matador Stadium for the Peter Pan-themed homecoming rally on Oct. 9.
Hand-painted stand-up posters of characters, such as Captain Hook and Wendy Darling from Disney’s 1953 movie, “Peter Pan,” reflected this year’s homecoming theme—“Take Me to Neverland.” Associated Student Body (ASB) members promoted the spirit of the theme by dressing up as the characters from the movie and including a reenactment of the Captain Hook and crocodile chase scene.
“I think [the rally] was really successful,” ASB president senior Roxanne Fong said. “I remember last year, everything [was] collapsing in the rally [and] we knew that this year we had to up our game, which I feel like we did.”
This year’s homecoming court royalty were Sarah Cao, Sara Hang, Ricky Jiao, Randy Lee, Lucy Nguyen, Caden Ong, Jackson Pham, Courtney Tong, Henry Vuong, and Christina Yuan. Retired teachers Michele Buchicchio and Michael Ramsay were the grand marshals.
ASB featured a new way of delivering the homecoming court’s speeches—playing the personalized, pre-recorded speeches of each homecoming prince and princess.
“We decided that it would be much simpler to have the speeches pre-recorded and sent in; both in terms of time and convenience,” junior Max Mora, ASB Athletics Committee Leader, said. “The rallies are on very tight schedules so it’s a lot better to just click a button and have the speech play rather than having someone recite them individually.”
Accompanied by various performances from cheer, Choreo, Colorguard, and drill, each homecoming prince and princess was escorted by a family member, friend, or teacher significant to them.
“My favorite part of the rally was actually when I was sitting down and watching the performances,” homecoming princess senior Christina Yuan said. “My escort, [Larry] Kanow, was super funny and there was never a dry moment with him.”
Despite the new thematic details and decked out field, senior Brian Tong felt that the rally “was not as good as it used to be” and “less hyped than usual.”
“I didn’t feel the energy as much,” Tong said. “The volume for the speeches could [increase] a little more because I could barely hear anything.”
In midst of the mixed sentiments on the rally, some found it to be highly enjoyable. Buchicchio, who worked at the school for 33 years, said, “San Gabriel will always hold such a special place in my heart. I am grateful for this honor.”
