When homecoming week commences, the annual tradition involving Campo students walking through the four creatively decorated hallways that correspond with each grade kicks off. Yet, most of us only see and appreciate the final product. So what’s really happening behind the scenes?
The weekend before homecoming week, Leadership organizes the decorating period, and with around 20 to 40 students per grade, the hallways are tackled and transformed to match each grade’s theme. Freshman Maddie Kahn shared her thoughts on her first year participating in the decorating process: “We started with putting all the paper up on the walls, to start as the base, and then moved onto the little decorations on the lockers and the doors. Once it was all coming together, the bigger pieces, like the jail cell, were put up next.” Prior to executing the decorating, Kahn, a leadership student, also went on to detail how the parent advisors were there to guide the decorating crew as they mapped out their ideas on sheets. “They were really helpful with giving us feedback and making it come to life.”
Sophomore Ariella Kaufman also found a similar thrill in contributing to the decorating process. “Even if I wasn’t in Leadership, I would go because I really like seeing the behind the scenes; I’m not the kind of person who just likes seeing the after result,” she reflected.
Aside from assisting with the general setup, Kaufman added her own perspective of the hallways’ transformation: “We tried to set it up so it’s like, walking through the hallway, you’re not seeing the same thing the whole time,” she said. “For us, as sophomores for the Game of Life, we made it so that you start at the beginning of life and it goes all the way into retirement. Across the hallways, we tried to make it seem like you’re walking through something, not just one aspect across the whole hallway.” She pointed out that this added a nuance to the decorating that hadn’t been observed as much in past years.
Another reason to highlight the efforts of the volunteers was the amount of time it took. Junior Nora Lawrence shared her thoughts on the time and effort put into the decorating: “I’ve been doing it for the last three years, and I really enjoy it. This year, we’ve spent the last five weeks on Saturday and Sundays building the bigger pieces for the hallways, so it was really cool seeing everything come together all this time.” Lawrence also mentioned the benefits of the time spent from nine to six working on the hallways, adding: “It’s also a bunch of fun because you really get to hang out with people for a long period of time that way.”
Take note Campo – there’s a lot more happening behind the scenes than we think!
