As the Homecoming game and dance approached, students prepared for the various events in fun community activities like float decorating, which drew Carlmont’s Associated Student Body (ASB) closer together.
Homecoming is known by most students as a fun, spirit-filled week packed with activities, games, and the Homecoming dance. However, for ASB, this means lots of extra time and effort put into ensuring the safety and enjoyment of everyone at these events.
“A lot of things are weeks, if not months, in advance, depending on what it is. Some of the things are more simple. Some of them like a dance or the assembly, the Homecoming assembly, they’ve been working on that since the day after Clubs Fair,” said ASB Activities Director Jim Kelly.
ASB has many branches that work together to plan and carry out events such as dances, spirit weeks, and also, recently, the blood drive. Homecoming week is just one of the many things they have to prepare for since they have a lot on their plate to plan early for. These kinds of events take so much work, where certain preparations are already being made for prom of 2026.
Although ASB is a class, it is mainly student-led with guidance from Kelly. Each commission has its own leaders who coordinate with their group and others to ensure that each event and activity is well-rounded and carefully thought out.
Although these kinds of events are mostly carried out by ASB, outside student involvement is welcomed and just as vital. There are so many ways for every student to get involved, from the float decorating that took place every day after school this week to the Spirit Bowl activities at lunch.
One particular activity that students enjoy is the float decorating.
“It’s a good way for students to get involved and participate in Homecoming events, so it raises the morale and spirit of people attending the Homecoming game,” said ASB Activities Vice President Shane Fitzpatrick, and a senior at Carlmont. “One of the big reasons we do these floats is because it allows for the general student body to be involved in working on something for school.”
There was an excited atmosphere during the float decorations while students worked together to construct, paint, and decorate four different floats.
“Well, I always do float decorating every year, and I always love doing it because of the community and also because I get to know new people,” said Leiane Moala, a junior at Carlmont this year.
Moala likes decorating floats, which is a great way for students to meet new people of different ages every year, and working on this fun project is a great way to build community at Carlmont.
This year, the Homecoming dance location will be a bit different, responding to student’s opinions, as it’s normally less formal and held at school.
ASB considered this and planned for the dance to be at Pinstripes this year, which is another challenging aspect to coordinate.
Now, with the hard work done by ASB and other students, the floats were almost ready to be presented at the Homecoming game last Friday.
The floats were sure to raise morale at Carlmont, but the process behind all of these preparations was as important to school spirit and community as the final events are going to be.
“And if we can allow the spirit that exists in our community into our circle, then we can work our magic on it, and we can put the spirit back out into the community, and then spirit as a whole goes up,” Kelly said. “And I think what you see now at Calmont is that’s happening.”
