Written By Staff Writers Emelia Gaines and Isaac Villegas
After waking up bright and early to watch Poly’s annual Homecoming parade on Central Avenue and cheer on everyone who participated, all were welcome on campus afterward for the school’s carnival, where students showed out to represent different parts of the school with their own unique booths. At this carnival, student-run clubs and other organizations are able to run a booth either for representation, fundraising purposes, or something else. These booths can sell items, host a carnival game, or even do something else that is more unique. This is an account of just a few of the clubs present at the carnival and what their takeaways on Poly’s Homecoming were.
When Poly’s ASU (Asian Student Union) club was asked what they chose to do for their booth this year, vice president Lana Harriman (12) explained that they were selling a variety of food and drink including matcha chai tea, bubble tea, and popcorn chicken. Although this booth was very popular and likely made a big profit, Harriman said that the main goal was simply to represent their club because “representation is good,” especially for small clubs. Also, Harriman believed that seeing everyone come to work together is her favorite part of homecoming, though she wished that it was slightly more organized when it came to the carnival affairs.
President of BSU (Black Student Union) Rochelle Dove (12) was a representative for her club at the carnival this year, and when asked to walk through their booth, she demonstrated that they were selling bracelets, necklaces, and other sorts of jewlery to give people that nostalgic feeling of childhood again. Dove believed that their booth would help fundraise for some of their bigger events later in the year such as their movie night and their students versus teachers basketball game. Dove also thought that one of the best parts of homecoming is the communication and how people interact with each other, but when asked if she would change something about homecoming, she stated that it would be to make the dance more formal.
Representing Ceramix club, Poly teacher Mrs. Williams explained that their booth (which has now become a Ceramix tradition at the homecoming carnival ever since a former president came up with the idea) is coloring people’s hair using hairspray. While this helps represent their club, Mrs. Williams thought their colored hairspray activity was mostly just for fun. Similar to what Dove said, Mrs. Williams also believed that the community is a key part of homecoming and the only thing that could make the day better was for there to be “clouds in the sky.”
Gardening Club booth at homecoming carnival
Gardening club’s booth offered a selection of plants and seeds to choose from in order to grow your own at home. While interviewing Charleigh Ohlheser (11) and Christopher Rosas (11) of Gardening Club, they explained that this sale event was chosen to “show how cool gardening is” and spread awareness about the club. They claimed that their favorite part of homecoming is the floats and the school spirit expressed by the students and they wouldn’t change anything about homecoming.
Key Club’s booth chose to sell hotdogs at the carnival in order to fundraise their club to fund future events. When asking Diego Gomez of Key Club what he would change about Poly’s Homecoming, he states that we would like to extend the length of the carnival to get more sales, and add more games to the selection of events.
Olivia Steele, representing the Link Crew booth, explains that her favorite part of homecoming is the football game and the school spirit alike. She claims that like the other clubs, their booth was serving as a fundraiser for their organization. When asked if she would like to change anything about homecoming. She wishes that she would like two weeks for float building instead of the usual one week.
The club finalists performing in Poly’s Lipsync Battle were ASU, Theater, and Orchestra. All clubs did a wonderful job, but Orchestra stole the show with their rendition of “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga. Good job Orchestra!
The booth represented by MECHA offered agua frescas in order to share their culture. MECHA used the sale of agua frescas as a fundraising opportunity and as a way to represent their club. When asking Sophia Montez, member of the club, she claims that if she could change anything about homecoming, she would either add more fans or move some booths inside due to the heat.
For the Mock Trial booth, they chose to offer seat savers and ice pops. While interviewing Shannon Flores, she explains that their booth was created as a fundraiser for mock trial and to show interested minds what they had to offer. Shannon explains that her favorite part of Poly’s homecoming is the parades because it showcases the students’ creativity.
The Music Tech booth offers a fun karaoke experience for any willing participants. Music Tech uses this booth to allow participants to express creativity and view what their club has to offer. Asher Kowalski, Music Tech’s president, claims that his favorite part of homecoming is the parade and the marching band, and if he could change anything about homecoming he would make the band perform the halftime show.
NAMI offered a rock painting experience to give insight on the benefits of mental health services that their organization offers. Homecoming serves as a representation of their club and services due to many people not being aware that they exist. When asking the representative, Athena Berbano, she claims that if she could change anything about homecoming, she would make the dance more formal due to her and many others dislike of the casual dress code.
New to Poly this year, Paws For a Cause came up with a creative demonstration of the ring toss carnival game, where the rings represented animal leashes and the prizes were all sorts of cookies. President Arianna Arias (12) explained that their booth was both to get funds and also to start getting involved in the school, marking the homecoming carnival as one of their very first events. When asked of her favorite part about homecoming, Arias asserted her love for float building and also how she wished that the dance would be more formal.
Perhaps one of the most entertaining booths of the day, Physics Club member Abraham Gustafson (12) explained that people had the opportunity to splash participating member Damian Villegas-Vega (12) with a water balloon. Gustafson said that they chose to do this carnival game to raise funds for all kinds of events including field trips and other activities, and it seemed to be a hit. Gustafson also thought that while float building was one of his favorite parts about homecoming, he also believed it could be improved by extending it to two weeks instead of only one.
Another one of the more unique booths at the homecoming carnival was created by Poly’s Coding Club, where they built an entire obstacle course where robots (more technically known as spheros) were able to race around. Vice president Anthony Schwabe (10) stated that their goal was both to fundraise but also to represent what their club was: fun, competitive, and chill. Schwabe also believed that the best part of homecoming is the marching band during the football game, though he acknowledged he may be slightly biased given his own involvement in Poly’s band, and he also included that the dance could be improved upon.
Perhaps one of the few non-student-run organizations present at the carnival was PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association), which were selling graduation signs as their booth. President Kristen Snyder explained that their booth’s purpose was to be represented and encourage people to become members, which would help them gain funds for the club that go to scholarships and other causes as a result. When asked about her favorite part of homecoming, Snyder said that she enjoyed seeing the alumni at the Bears of Distinction, and she also joked that if she could change something about homecoming, it would be for “more parking.”
It goes without a doubt that Poly’s Homecoming requires a ton of help from various groups of people, but it is especially certain that there would be no carnival without the participation of Poly’s student-run organizations. It is highly encouraged that you check out and support all clubs on campus because each one contributes to the school in their own way. Below is a list of clubs that were present at homecoming but not mentioned above, because each one deserves to be honored. Please note that this is not an official list of any kind and some clubs may not be named, but we appreciate all our clubs:
Anime Club / Applied Graphic Design / Art Club /ASL (American Sign Language) Club / AVID / Comedy Sportz / Folklórico / Interact Club / Orchestra / PCL (Principle Centered Leadership) / Philosophy Club / Photography Club / Poly Band and Color Guard / Poly Pep Squad / Poly Song and Dance Team / Puente / Red Cross Club / S.A.V.E. / SHS (Spanish Honors Society) / The Believers Club / TPUSA / Vindication Club / Women’s Equity Club / Yearbook / Younglife Club