This year’s Arcadia High School (AHS) Homecoming Assembly was held on Sept. 18 during period 3. Due to rain and weather conflicts, the assembly was moved to the North Gym. Students were packed into the bleachers on either side of the gym.
The assembly started with ASB President senior Angelique Dizon introducing the Marching Band performance. In this performance, Band played their pieces “1000 Airplanes on the Roof” and “Mae-e.”
“Although we were unable to display our field show in its fullest form without choreography or formations, I believe our Monday sectionals and Wednesday night rehearsals really paid off in our all-school demonstration,” said sophomore Adrianne Cheng, a bass clarinet player for Band.
After this performance, ASB Spirit Commissioner senior Matthew Wang announced the 2025-2026 Homecoming Court. The freshman Princesses, Riley Corliss and Misaki O’Donell, were introduced first with a round of applause reverberating throughout the gym. Next to come out were sophomore Prince and Princess Anthony Huerta and Leanna Ramos. They were followed up by junior Prince and Princess Aaron Mercado and Lura Sumner. Finally, senior Princes, Ryan D’Amato, Dominic Benson, and Raeden Kwong were announced, accompanied by senior Princesses Sofia Perez, Jocelyn Bostrom, and Kathy Bai.
Following the Homecoming Royalty announcement was Pep Squad Song and Varsity Cheer. The Song team performed its own routine first that included pirouettes, tumbling rolls, and fan kicks, separately from the Cheer team, who displayed various acrobatic moves and flips.
“We put in a lot of hours last week, working especially hard on the stunts,” said sophomore Giuliana Mercurio, a member of the Varsity Cheer team. “We focused on syncing up as a team so the energy and school spirit would really show on stage.”
Later on, ASB Athletics Commissioner junior Theodore Pham introduced the AHS fall sports teams: Coed Varsity Cross Country, Boys Varsity Water Polo, Girls Varsity Golf, Girls Varsity Tennis, Girls Varsity Volleyball, and Boys Varsity Football. Each team had their own unique celebration and chant. For example, the Girls Varsity Tennis team had several members line up to form a net while other members played a match over them.
When all the sports teams were introduced, Orchesis Dance Company performed a routine to the song “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga.
“We dedicated a lot of time to practice before, during, and after school,” said junior Juliana Vaughan, an Orchesis member. “We always practice our dance routines repeatedly until we can perfectly match the vibe of the song.”
Once the crowd settled down from Orchesis’s performance, this year’s Homecoming Royalty competed in a game against other grade levels. Each component of the game required both team coordination and concentration, such as with holding an egg with a spoon in their mouths.
After this competition, there was a performance from the Seniors of Merit at Work (SMW). The SMW members danced to numerous hit songs, including “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical and “Touch” by Katseye. The assembly ended with the AHS Alma Malter, where every student stood in the bleachers and sang together.
