Mamma Mia, here we go again EHS! Homecoming week has arrived and EHS has a lot planned to make sure that this homecoming is one to remember. 

Eureka High School Student Council is working especially hard this year to make sure that this homecoming is incomparable to all past homecomings. From changing the layout of homecoming to the detailed decorations, Eureka STUCO has it all covered.

STUCO Advisor, Mr. Gensler, explains that homecoming is one of the most important and detailed events that STUCO puts on. Months and months of planning goes into making homecoming week the special event that it is.

¨At the end of the previous school year, we (STUCO) come together and brainstorm several different ideas,¨ Gensler said. “Once the theme is decided, we let people sign up to chair the different decorations areas so that by the time fall hits, the decoration areas have a vision of how they want their area to look and we recruit members to help out on those committees and turn our visions into reality.¨ 

The theme chosen for this year’s homecoming is ´My Big Fat Greek Homecoming´ with the inspiration coming more from various greek landscapes and a peaceful atmosphere. This homecoming theme helps bring the old into the new, creating a majestic and tranquil dance that brings everyone together. 

¨This theme is very different from anything we have ever done, its original,¨ Emma Feltz, overall homecoming chair, said. ¨The actual name for the theme is ‘my big fat greek homecoming´ but we aren’t really basing it off the movie and more of just like modern greek design combined with traditional and ancient greek flare.¨

Getting to the point of choosing this theme, however, takes a lot more work than one would think. Planning for this year’s homecoming began at the end of the previous school year and continues into the summer. 

¨At the end of the previous school year, we come together and we brainstorm several different ideas together, then after the ideas are created and the vision is explained, council votes through a google form and takes those results to the administration,¨ Gensler said. ¨ After its approved, people sign up to chair the different decorations areas and by the time fall hits, the decorations areas have a vision of how they want their area to look and we begin to turn our visions into reality.¨

This year STUCO has a lot up their sleeves, including changing the layout of Gym A for the actual dance and adding in new aspects to create an even better experience for EHS students. 

¨I think we have a photo booth now, we will have an area where people can take photos with a fun backdrop, it will go with the ´mama mia´ type stuff, including boas, sunglasses, and fun little sayings,¨ Addyson Taylor, overall homecoming chair, 12, said. 

Along with this, the overall layout of where homecoming is held will be different. Although our location will be the same, the entrance and exit will be at the same doors and the tables previously in the commons will be moved outside so the atrium won’t get too crowded. 

¨Due to where we always had the entrance we have never been able to regulate that area to let people from the dance move in and out freely, this change will allow people to socialize and move about without making the atrium a solid mass of bodies,¨ Gensler said. 

This year is the first year since 2019 that EHS will have a ‘normal´ type homecoming without regulations, because of this STUCO is working extra hard this year to make sure that this homecoming is going to be one for the books.

¨I feel like we have a lot of our spirit back this year and everyone’s really excited for it, we are all hyped up for a normal homecoming, especially after all the weird stuff that happened in the past, and I feel like, especially with STUCO, we have a good group of people who will get all the decorations done and make homecoming even bigger and better than before,¨ Taylor, 12, said. 

These changes alone take a lot of effort from homecoming chairs and STUCO, but adding in the creation of decorations and the regulation of homecoming affairs, the task of making homecoming the amazing week that it takes a lot of manpower. 

¨We have so many people that show up almost every work day and we have some that only show up once, but every little thing helps and goes a long way because there is so much to get done,¨ Feltz, 12, said. 

The work that STUCO does every year without fail, has made homecoming an event to remember every single year, the amount of effort put into just homecoming alone is beyond compare.

¨I think the way Eureka does it, it probably is more work than most other schools, we really take pride in creating a school-wide celebration with various events going on,¨ Gensler said. ¨The amount of time that Student Council Members put into the decorations, I think is unparalleled in the St. Louis area.¨