As students sauntered through the hallways on the morning of Friday, Oct. 8, they noticed two things. First, they felt that good old “It’s finally Friday” feeling hit them, which was quickly followed by the odd apparel of those surrounding them. It was dress like a superhero or villain day, only the beginning of the eventful spirit week.
After the three-day weekend, students arrived at school dressed in wacky-tacky, Disney and Western themed attire. Students finished the week displaying their atomic spirit. Freshmen wore red, sophomores wore white, juniors wore face paint and seniors wore togas as per tradition.
“[My favorite day] was wacky tacky day, because people were wearing really ugly clothes and it looked funny,” said freshman James Barker. “I wore weird clothes that didn’t match and two different pairs of shoes.”
AHS’s annual Powderpuff football game was held on Wednesday night. Junior and senior girls duked it out, as the boys cheered for their class from the sideline. In the end the seniors won, with a score of 26–18. The crowd then shifted to a bonfire on the football practice field to celebrate.
On Friday evening, a pep rally was held to get students hyped for the upcoming football game against the West Springfield Spartans. Athletic teams announced their members, then gathered for their unique team cheers. The dance team and varsity cheerleaders also performed.
“Everybody is a winner today, everybody,” said history teacher and head football coach Mike Scott during the pep rally.
Prior to the game, two firetrucks and several police cars escorted the homecoming parade. Multiple cars carrying the homecoming court followed closely behind clubs, teams, and class floats. Candy was distributed to giddy children admiring the students and vehicles passing by.
The homecoming court, composed of freshmen Carly Potts and Jordan Fox, sophomores Betsy Kruse and Stephen Oakes, juniors Nisreen Al-Suqi and Samir Shah, and seniors Katie Bui and Yari Mizouri, walked through a pathway of colorguard members during halftime.
Returning alumni reunited with old friends during the game and regained a sense of Atom pride.
“It felt a whole lot different being an alumni than a student, the atmosphere was completely different, but I still had a great time,” class of 2010 graduate Stephanie Burns said.
By the end of the night, the Atoms dominated over the Spartans, with a score of 42-6.
The top songs of 2010 blasted over the grand speakers, the following day, as nearly 1,000 students danced the night away. The three hour-long dance, held in the main gym on Saturday night was packed full of energetic, well-dressed students eager to have a good time after a relaxing week.
