Students and staff at John Hancock College Prep High School are all intrigued to know more about the homecoming dance this year. The Student Council, sponsored by Andrew Martinek, gathered and researched homecoming dances, which have already occurred to plan a dance that’s safe and fun. By viewing other schools' actions, they were able to plan a dance.
When the Signature spoke to the Hancock Student Council a few weeks ago, they stated that there were going to be a lot of safety precautions going on at the dance if the school held one. “We’re going to have a lot of social distancing because usually when we have homecomings, we have a very large turnout,” said Earnest Carver, the treasurer of Student Council. Although homecoming will keep some of its traditional features, it will still be very different this year. A few weeks ago, Carver stated that there might not be concessions and the dance will probably have to happen in an outside area or even multiple.
“It just would be very nice for teenagers to have their first homecoming at the new building,” said Carver.
Like CPS, suburban schools are currently asking if they should go with a dance this year as well. Athletic director Jack Vilet from Ogemaw Heights, who’s currently planning their dance, says homecoming will require a lot of safety measures. “If we learned anything over the past year, it’s how to be flexible,” said Vilet in an article titled “Coin Flip Decides Fate of Homecoming, but Game Goes On for Gladwin and Ogemaw.”
As of October 6, Hancock announced the homecoming dance is official and is set to take place on Friday, October 15 at the South Concourse of Soldier Field. The dance will have a DJ and some sitting areas. Since this is an outside area, there will be warming stations. Students will pay $20 for tickets, and tickets will go on sale on Friday, October 8. Students who will be commuting to the dance via their own vehicles will need to pay a $10 fee for on-site parking. Specific parking and drop-off information will be communicated by the school soon. Only 500 tickets will be going on sale; therefore, they might sell out quickly.
According to Amy Wenzler, one of Hancock’s assistant principals, Hancock will follow the CPS social distancing guidelines. In order to successfully be able to attend the dance, students will either have to have a negative COVID-19 test or be fully vaccinated. Also, students will have to wear their masks the whole time during the dance. Student Council is trying to figure out a way to add the masks to the dance’s theme.
“I’m excited that students are able to attend a dance this year and help take part in the planning! I’m looking forward to attending my first Hancock dance,” said Wenzler who became one of Hancock’s assistant principals a couple of weeks before the pandemic.
The Signature accepts student writing, photos, and art for publication. Contact Mr. Salazar, the journalism teacher, in room 316 during AC Lab or by email at rsalazar at cps dot edu. Responses to the Signature can also be emailed to Mr. Salazar and may be included in future issues.
Soldier Field’s South Concourse where the Hancock homecoming dance will take place on October 15.
Photo courtesy of Soldier Field
