There is no shortage of topics of discussion that can generate great debate. Whether it be matters of politics, belief, or the answer to the age-old question of whether or not it’s okay to have “breakfast for dinner”, people have strong opinions that they are willing to fight for. This entire article could be spent musing about the great debates of human history.
Instead, it’s about pretty much the only thing that EVERYONE can agree on: Texans love their high school football.
If participation in this week’s Homecoming celebrations are any indication, Connally ISD is practically bursting at the seams with excitement for this week’s edition of Friday Night Lights. The 2023 Homecoming game will kick off at 7:00 PM when the varsity boys take on the Springtown Porcupines.
“Homecoming is one of the best parts of the school year,” CHS Principal Hermann Pereira said. “It gives all of the students a chance to have fun when they come to school and builds a great sense of community in the building.”
The festivities started on Saturday, September 23, with a dance for the high schoolers. Students filled the commons area and cafeteria and had kicked off the week of fun with a neon-themed celebration.
“It was exciting to see that the dance had such a strong turnout,” CHS Student Council Sponsor Kassidy Munson said. “The kids had fun with the theme and were complimentary of the music. It seemed like they really enjoyed themselves.”
Throughout the week, each of the campuses participated in a wide variety of themed dress up days. Typically full of elementary-aged students walking neatly in line with bubbles in their mouths or secondary students bemoaning Yondr pouches, the hallways now housed movie characters, an astonishing number of twins, and trips through time machines to different decades.
“I loved getting a chance to dress up like I was in the 90s for Way Back Wednesday,” CHS sophomore Tra’Niya Womack said. “It really seemed like a lot of kids got into it. When everyone jumps into something like this, it changes the whole vibe of the building - everyone compliments each other and just has fun.”
Wednesday, September 27 marked one of the Connally community’s favorite annual events: the Homecoming parade. The parade, which has traditionally been held on a Thursday, was moved up a day to give more students and organizations the opportunity to participate.
“Moving the date of the parade gave us the opportunity to open participation up to all of our students,” CISD Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe said. “We started communicating with our local faith-based organizations to work out the scheduling details with them so that we could minimize conflicts. I was pleased to see that several of them participated in the parade.”
Line up for the parade started at 5:00 PM, and by the start of the procession at 5:30, there were floats and student groups lined up all around the Multipurpose Building.
“It was a lot of fun to decorate our float and participate in the parade. It was really hot, but it was cute to see all of the little kids get excited about the candy,” senior Fantasia Soto said. She rode on the high school PALs float.
The week of excitement and fun culminates on Friday when the varsity boys football team takes on the Springtown Porcupines. This game will be slightly different than others, as the halftime show will be dedicated to celebrating the 2023 Connally High School Homecoming Court.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the Connally Homecoming tradition,” senior queen nominee Gracie Alejo said. “I am thankful for my classmates that voted me onto the court and can’t wait to put on a nice, pretty dress for the halftime ceremonies.”
As this year’s Homecoming celebrations come to a close, Ms. Munson hopes that the students are able to make memories that will last them a lifetime.
“Everything about Homecoming has been great this year,” Munson said. “The students have really amped up their school spirit. We had great participation in dress up days, louder cheering at the pep rally, and tons of energy with every thing we did. There’s been no shortage of Cadet Pride.”
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Tickets for the 2023 Homecoming game can be purchased online at https://www.cadetathletics.org/.