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By Julie Nesvold

AHS Student

Homecoming Week is a very exciting, but busy time at Austin Public Schools. This year’s theme for Homecoming is “Humble the Huskies!”

Homecoming officially kicked off on Friday with our first pep fest where we announce our Homecoming court candidates. On Sunday, we will hold a competitive game of kickball at Wescott where grades 9-12 will play against each other. Students are encouraged to bring food drive items to kickball as they will be worth three times the number of points!

Monday, we start off our theme days with Comfy/PJ Day! Tuesday is Spam Day. Spam apparel will be 15% at the Spam shop for students and staff from the Sept. 12-16 (bring your student or staff ID). Wednesday is Dress Fancy Day in honor of the Homecoming Coronation, where the Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned!

Thursday is Class Color Day for Battle of Connects. BOC is a fun, competitive, school-wide activity that takes up half of the school day with multiple games, trivia, competitions, and more. BOC uses all kinds of skill sets and there is something for everyone to participate in. All grades compete to get the greatest number of points for their class in hopes of winning the 2022-2023 Battle of Connects! For this day, freshmen wear orange, sophomores are green, juniors go all out in blue, and the seniors come dressed decked out in black. Following the home soccer game Thursday night, there will be a bonfire for all AHS students to attend (weather permitting).

Friday is Scarlet and White Day. There is a pep fest toward the end of the day where fall sports captains get to talk about their season and the cross-country team brings in the game ball that they run all the way from Owatonna High School.

Directly after the pep fest is the Homecoming parade. Each class has their own float that they decorate and fill with tons of students from their class. There are also many other floats in the parade. There is the Homecoming Court float, Woodson Kindergarten Center walks along the route, some elementary schools typically walk in the parade, and the AHS and Ellis pep bands walk through playing music they have been learning the first couple of weeks of school. The parade also features the honored distinguished alumni.

Friday at 7 p.m. our very own Austin Packer football team takes on the Owatonna Huskies. During the football game you will see a lot of school involvement and the Homecoming Court will be introduced at half-time.

Finally, on Saturday, the high school will host a dance for all high school students. This year’s dance will be a little different than most years as it will be held at Wescott Field from 8-10:30 p.m. There will be food trucks, music, games, and lots of dancing! Students can buy a ticket at the cashier’s office for $5 or they can buy one at the dance the day of for $8. Students must bring their IDs and tickets to enter the dance, and once they leave the dance, they are not allowed to come back in.

Throughout the entirety of the week there will be a food drive, with all food and donations given to the Packer Pantry and Clothing Closet. There will also be multiple home sporting events leading up to the big game against the Huskies.

Good luck to all the sports teams in their games and let’s hope all AHS students have a fun and safe homecoming week. Remember, it’s a great day to be a Packer.