The Montclair High Student Coalition has announced that MHS is holding its first Homecoming in recent memory. All of the Homecoming events will be held on Saturday, November 16, including a Tailgate Party, an Alumni Gathering, and a “Sweet Soiree” Dance for current MHS students. The annual Thanksgiving football game against Bloomfield has always served as an unofficial homecoming event that draws alums “home,” but this year the Student Coalition hopes to create a more official way to invite the Montclair community to show their school spirit. MHS Principal James Earle says that this event will be “something to get everyone excited about MHS and let alums know that they can always come back.”
Homecoming Day starts off at 9 am in the Annex parking lot with an official tailgate party where Mounties football fans can park their cars and tailgate with family and friends before the game. Plans to provide music, food and assorted tailgate activities are still in the works, but the Student Coalition is confident that this event will be a great way to involve the greater Montclair Community in MHS spirit. Game tickets will be sold at the tailgate gathering and game attendees can leave their cars in the lot. At this game, the Mounties will be playing their first playoff opponent. From 3-7 pm, all MHS alumni are invited to a gathering in the Annex Atrium with light refreshments and music. The gathering is a free event, but donations will be accepted for the Class of 2014.
To end the day, there will be an MHS Homecoming Dance for current students held in the main gym at the high school from 7:30 to 11 pm. Light refreshments will be served in the small gym and there will be a DJ in the main gym. The event is semi-formal, with khakis and a dress shirt/polo suggested for boys, and girls attire equivalent or slightly less formal than for Junior Prom. This event is for current MHS students only, and dates from outside the schools are not permitted. According to Mr. Earle, security at the Homecoming Dance will be similar to that at prom, complete with bag/pocket checks and pat downs. According to the Official MHS Homecoming Facebook page, funds raised at the dance will go to the Class of 2014 and a donation will be made “to breast cancer” (possibly a research fund or an awareness organization).
Many MHS students are abuzz about the prospect of a school dance to attend other than Junior or Senior Prom. As a student, I have heard many times from various alums, some now MHS staff, that years ago there were many school-sponsored events, including many dances, that got cancelled due to security issues. Perhaps this event signals that the tide is turning.