In a typical sea of sweatpants and hoodies, a single beacon of dynamic fashion illuminated the Woodbridge High School community late this October: Homecoming spirit week.
From October 21st to October 25th, students and staff members from every grade level and department celebrated Homecoming Week with wild, wacky, and questionable fashion choices. This year’s spirit week followed no overall theme; daily prompts ranged from patriotic to colorful to costumed. An exciting variety of spirit days allowed everyone to showcase their best outfits and creative ideas across multiple facets of culture, school life, and -of course- comedy.
As if inspired into action by George Washington himself, The Vikings started their 5-day spirited stretch off strong with ‘Merica Day. Woodbridge students decked out in red, white, and blue overtook the halls – there was no shortage of cowboy boots and star-covered baseball caps breaking school-goers’ usual dress patterns. Notable looks and props included Founding Fathers, Wild West impersonators, Nikki Minaj x American Flag collaborations, and dedicated Lady Liberty interpretations.
For one such memorable contributor, dressing up for ‘Merica Day was more than just a patriotic experience. When asked how it felt to dress as America’s mascot for the day, Senior Emily Olivera-Rocha, clad from head to toe in a Bald Eagle onesie, spoke to the simple joy of spirit week: “It made me feel a little nervous at first,” she said, “but once I saw another eagle I felt more at ease.” Emily added, “It was really fun being an eagle for a day, especially [when] making others smile or laugh.”
Woodbridge High’s school spirit made just as big of a splash on Tuesday’s Costume Day and Wednesday’s Mean Girls-inspired ‘On Wednesdays We Wear Pink’ Day. With Halloween just around the corner and pink-central Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming to an end, Tuesday and Wednesday provided a much-needed outlet for celebration and support – both in preparing for the upcoming spooky holiday and raising awareness for national health concerns affecting the Woodbridge community and beyond. On Thursday’s Dress as Your Type Day and Friday’s Class Colors Day, students and staff were seen sporting the image of their often-satirical ‘types’ of romantic interest and their graduating class’s colors: white for freshman, green for sophomores, yellow for juniors, and black for seniors.
For every extraordinary tutu, face-painted masterpiece, inflatable, superhero cape, fake mustache, and coordinated costume represented, there was still room for the ordinary dress. Some opted for more inconspicuous outfits – t-shirts, hidden pattern socks, modest bracelets – but the fact remains: no matter how much effort members of the Viking village committed to participating in Spirit Week, they reported having fun doing it.
Many students expressed that Homecoming Spirit Week is one of the best and most memorable times of the year. For the class of 2025, this year’s Homecoming celebration will mark the first of many ‘lasts’ – seniors especially went above and beyond to amplify school spirit during their final year at Woodbridge, collaborating with friends of all grade levels to participate and come up with unique looks. “Our favorite part every morning was taking all [of] our pictures,” says senior Megan Piper, a member of one collectively participating friend group. “We wanted to go all out for our senior year…I just loved having so much fun with these people the whole week”.
Younger students seemingly took away just as much positivity and connection from the eventful collection of days. According to Freshman Fiona Jack, Homecoming spirit week “made [her] first year of high school really fun.” Fiona shared her endearing experience of accidentally dressing up in the same costume as her friend on Tuesday, noting their laughter and surprise. She was just one of the hundreds of Woodbridge High students who enjoyed the week’s one-of-a-kind, spirited excitement.
In reflection of the 2024-2025 Homecoming spirit week, students and educators shared their favorite days, looks, pictures, and moments from the 5-day period. Fan favorites on Costume Day were the dinosaur, cow, and Garfield inflatable character ensembles, and seniors thoroughly appreciated the ancient attire on the senior class’s exclusive traditional Toga Tuesday. Some sneaky students even lightheartedly admitted to being ‘counted’ as participants in the spirit week class competition without putting in their best efforts to join in on the action.
In its entirety, Woodbridge’s Homecoming – especially Spirit Week – was a blast. The widely celebrated week ended with a “Night of Fright” themed Homecoming dance and a victorious neon-out Homecoming football game on October 25th and 26th, respectively. Woodbridge’s next spirit week will fall on school calendars the week before winter break; for now, students and staff alike will return to dressing within the constraints of an acceptable society. However, the beautiful memories of this year’s Homecoming spirit week will generate enough positive atmosphere in the days ahead to sustain Woodbridge’s tight-knit community.
