In a display of school pride, Arcadia High School (AHS) students partook in Homecoming Spirit Week from Sept. 15 to 18 to prepare for the Homecoming dance on Sept. 20. ASB organized a series of events and fun themes throughout the week.

Hear Me Out Monday

Inspired by TikTok’s “Hear Me Out” cake trend, students came to school dressed as a favorite fictional character or celebrity. A person’s Hear Me Out represents someone that they find likable or charming.

Junior Lily Pisano wore an outfit inspired by Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks. She wore a blue hoodie, a homemade headband, and homemade glasses.

“I love [his] glasses. He’s tall and he can sing,” Pisano said, when asked why she chose this character. She reminisced that, as a child, she enjoyed watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, preferring the CG version over the new animated one. Though she had never anticipated dressing up as Simon, she had first heard about the Hear Me Out trend “last year, maybe around Christmas time,” and was excited to represent a lovable childhood character.

During lunch, ASB provided cupcakes to mimic the popular trend. Students enjoyed both the decorations and the treats.

Two-gether Tuesday

In a lighthearted showcase of friendship, pairs of students wore matching outfits. Some decided to twin with identical tops while others dressed as correlating characters.

“I twinned with [junior] Iris [Loong]. I was Nick Wilde [with] a fox headband, tie, and green button up and she was Judy Hopps!” said ASB Historian junior Nicole Kim. The two characters are a duo in the movie Zootopia.

When asked if she’d seen an outfit that was particularly memorable, Kim said, “The best twin fit I saw today was a group of four guys who dressed as performative males,” referring to  an amusing trend where boys adopt certain behaviors or aesthetics stereotypically assigned to girls.

At lunch, students participated in Duo Musical Chairs—with a twist.

“The pairs [were] ‘confined’ together because they have to hold up a balloon in between them. Before the music stops, a command [was] said and the pairs [completed] the command before sitting down,” said Kim.

Wannabe Wednesday

On Wednesday, students and teachers swapped outfits. Students came in dress shirts and glasses while teachers were adorned in jeans, casual tops, and fun pimple patches.

“I wore…oversized jeans…, a black tank top, [a] plaid hoodie over [my] shirt, pimple star stickers, platform sneakers, [a] backpack, [a] clip-on plushy, and two small high ponytails,” said Mrs. Nicole Zaidi, an English teacher at AHS. “I was inspired by all my students…a special shout out to [junior] Veda Baliga’s hairstyle.”

At lunch, ASB organized a Dress to Impress Walkway for students to flaunt their fun outfits. The name is derived from “Dress to Impress,” a recently popular game on Roblox.

Spirit Thursday

Students decked out in spirit gear on Thursday, outfits ranging from AHS hoodies to all-red attire. At lunch, students were given star crowns and applied glittery face paints to build excitement for the day’s later events: the Homecoming Tailgate and the Homecoming Football game.