FRISCO, TEXAS —  Centennial High School’s annual Homecoming dance is getting closer and closer every day, and the school halls are papered with posters advertising Spirit Week dress up themes, ticket advertisements, and advertisements for the dance itself. Student Council, with their overseer Mrs. Gillespie, is hard at work to ensure the night is magical for all the students attending. 

This year’s homecoming theme is “A Walk Down Memory Lane” in order to honor the 20th anniversary of CHS. Putting something as big as this together, however, takes a lot of planning and effort.

“We normally start at least a month or two ahead of time to start preparing for decorations, DJ, treats, and the refreshments. It takes a good month to get all that started up,” Mrs. Gillespie said. 

Planning ahead and getting the ball rolling in a timely manner ensures the event goes as smoothly as possible when the time comes. 

Every artist needs a muse, and STUCO found inspiration in media, and Centennial’s own 20th anniversary. 

“Because it’s the 20th anniversary we felt ‘A Walk Down Memory Lane’ was the idea everyone wanted to go with; the idea originally came from the movie Kissing Booth, there were lots of black and white pictures everywhere, so we got over 700 8”x10” black and white pictures to hang up around the entrance,” Mrs. Gillespie said.

STUCO handles the brunt of the work, decorating, budgeting, ordering supplies and alike to make sure the night is as memorable as possible. 

“On the day of the dance, we come to campus around 8 o’clock, decorating with balloon arches and pictures. They do the advertising, social media, decorating; STUCO works out supplies like crowns, sashes, and cups,” Mrs. Gillespie said.

Struggling to put everything together is part of the process, and this year is no different; from budgeting, to decorating, there’s always one task that takes priority. 

“Probably budgeting, making sure we have enough money to be able to make the dance a good experience, we can’t do that without ticket sales. Getting invoices, dealing with the district, it’s a very hard time of the year,” Mrs. Gillespie said. 

However, paying for the dance is only a portion of where ticket sales go throughout the year. 

Planning for a large event comes with its hardships, and everyone involved has their own hopes for the outcome of this year’s Homecoming dance. 

“I would love to sell out, last year we sold out; we have to keep sales at 500 or less because of fire code, and we didn’t do that last year by accident. Selling out will definitely help us with funds, the spring fling, and senior field day,” Mrs. Gillespie said. 

Mrs. Gillespie and Student Council work very hard as a team every year to provide a fun, memorable experience for all the students that choose to attend Centennial’s annual Homecoming dance. They also have another dance in March, and a prom in store for the school’s population this year, and she will work just as hard to make these events worthwhile as well.