Homecoming is a ‘welcome back’ celebration for students to enjoy a multitude of festivities, many of which are organized by the student council. During the week leading up to Homecoming, the school community takes part in hallway decorating, pep rallies and the football game.

“It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and planning,” student council treasurer Asil Mithani said. “You have to have a focused mindset and the right people for the job.”

Preparations began after the administration decided on the date for homecoming, Sept. 24. From there, StuCo announced the date for other events including the parade at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the football game at 7:00 p.m on Friday and the dance at 7:00 p.m on Saturday.

“Homecoming is not just picking a week,” said Mithani. “Our plans have to get approved by the district and we have to make sure the DJ and cafeteria are available for that day. Hebron is a very big school and has lots of extracurriculars. There are all these factors we have to take into consideration to make sure all students can participate.”

Last year, a poll was released for the student body to pick what theme they wanted with the choices being board games, holidays or outer space. The majority chose outer space. The school was open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 17 for StuCo and other organizations to decorate the hallways for the space-themed school dance. Supplies were ordered from Amazon, Oriental Trading or crafted.

“It was fun being involved and doing something useful [on] Saturday,” sophomore Caroline Hejnar said.

Mithani said it was challenging managing without their student council sponsor from last year, Jennifer Russell, who is currently on maternity leave.

“She gave us honest judgment and pushed us to make sure we were doing the best we were able to do,” Mithani said. “Luckily, we have a new student council sponsor, [Katherine] Carriker, and she’s wonderful. Having two sponsors that care about us a lot means a lot to me because I know whenever I need them, they’ll be here in a flash.”

Last year’s DJ from DPD, an entertainment business that plays at schools across the Dallas area, was hired to play music at the cafeteria dance. It will be decorated this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to depict a futuristic setting.

“We [want] to make it look like space as much as we can,” student council sponsor Katherine Carriker said. “We got posters, cardboard cutouts, a lot of paint, a lot of paper [and] some [inflatable] aliens and spaceships.”

Mithani said the hours student council spent hanging decorations, deciding on spirit week ideas and submitting music suggestions go toward bringing the Hebron community together.

“I just want every student to enjoy Homecoming,” Mithani said. “We have lots of new students this year. I want everyone to have a good time, enjoy the dress up, participate, have a good time and smile.”

*(Editors’ Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the start time of Saturday’s dance. This version has been corrected to show the dance begins at 7 p.m.)