Stuco Brings New Changes for 50th Anniversary

This year, the new changes during Homecoming week welcomed Conant’s 50th anniversary. Monday’s coronation assembly kicked off the week, followed by Movie Night the same day, and Junior-Senior girls kickball Tuesday night.

The immensely popular animation picture Up was shown during movie night in honor of the homecoming theme, Disney. On Monday, September 22, an inflatable screen was set up on the football field, and the turnout was quite good, with 150-200 students showing up. Swathed in blankets and sweatshirts, everyone appeared to have a lot of fun. Dave Moravek, the Student Council (Stuco) sponsor, said, “It’s got potential to be a better event next year.”

Before the movie, however, Stuco set up the ALS ice bucket challenge in 50 degree weather, which was rather unfortunate for the teachers. According to Stuco president, Claudia de Bruyn, a senior, it was funny to see their reactions as well as the students. At the end, a lot of money was raised for the cause. It was successful for Conant’s first movie night after a brief hiatus.

Also, coronation, the quintessential homecoming tradition of American high schools, needed a change. “The ceremony had morphed into a solemn, boring affair over the years,” de Bruyn said.

She continued, “We wanted to increase interaction with the crowd.” To keep the crowd interested, the freshmen, sophomore and juniors biographies were cut to ensure a short assembly. (You can read the complete homecoming court bios here)

Stuco also had teachers dress up in costumes, featuring crowd favorites, such as Buzz and Woody, Captain America and Thor, Minnie and Mickey, and Snow White and Prince Charming. Cassius Cougar made a brief appearance to toss wristbands and homecoming shirts into the crowds.

The beloved Cougarettes show was moved from the Friday assembly to the Monday assembly to avoid the usual rushing on Friday. This arrangement was advantageous because the Cougarettes also promoted JCC kickball on Tuesday, and ultimately, raised the attendance at that event.

In response to these adjustments, de Bruyn said, “We were inspired to change because we wanted to make it more fun and include the student body more.” Some of the Cougarettes led both the juniors and seniors in a Junior vs. Senior roller coaster. This proved to be a success as an ocean of palms rippled in unison through the bleachers.

Moravek mentioned that their biggest effort was to try to make the coronation assembly more engaging. He said, “In the past, it felt like it was all about the kids on the floor and the people in the bleachers were just there to be there.” Stuco wanted to use the assembly to crown, have fun, and promote the events scheduled during the week.

“You can expect the coronation assembly to be just as fun [next year],” de Bruyn said.

Moravek said, “I think our [Stuco] goal is to start planning Homecoming nine months out, and we hope to have more events next year and make our assemblies even more student-engaging. And do the things they [students] want to do, not what I want to do. That’s why we have Student Council.”

With the future in mind, Moravek added, “We’re hoping to make more changes as we move forward.”

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