By Melisa Adatepe, Cameron Thornton, Kaivo Kadai, James Hanzel, Sameed Marco, Leighton Tanaka, and Audrey Martin, Staff Writers
// Amidst the August heat, the Acalanes High School campus comes alive as students fill the halls, eagerly awaiting the upcoming back-to-school events.
With the start of the school year, Acalanes Leadership has planned various events to welcome Acalanes students back, including the Senior Barbeque, Welcome Back Rally, and the Back to School Dance.
The Welcome Back Rally on Aug. 26 is an anticipated back-to-school event that students will attend during Academy. Leadership encourages the student body to wear neon colors during the rally, as the event’s theme is ‘Blackout.’
“We have black lights, so everyone should be wearing neon and white. We are going to have games and performances, so it’ll be cool,” Rallies Board Member and senior Izzie Quinn said.
Another notable back-to-school event is the Senior Barbeque at the Acalanes Practice Field scheduled for Aug. 20. This gathering will bring seniors together for one of many grade-exclusive activities held throughout the year.
“It’s kind of like celebrating our first full week as seniors. We’re all getting together, and we’re going to be all eating together and playing games, listening to music. It’s just a super fun, chill thing for everyone to get together,” Senior Class President Mika Bocobo said.
As the seniors enter their final year of high school, events like these aim to create lasting memories leading up to graduating.
Another highlighted back-to-school festivity is the Welcome Back Dance on Aug. 25. The dance is from 7-9 p.m. in the Big Gym. Much like the rally, the dance will be neon themed. Tickets for the event will be free for students with Associated Student Body (ASB) Cards and $10 without ASB.
“It [will be] a great place to have a fun time with friends and to get into the spirit of the school year. There’s going to be all the usual dance activities like dancing and a DJ. There’s probably going to be a photo wall, and we had food like popcorn and snow cones last year,” Sophomore Class President Oliver Stoneman said.
Many students find these gatherings essential to promote student engagement and spirit for the year ahead.
“I think a lot of the back-to-school events are really important for our school because coming from summer, a lot of us are not really spending time together as a community, as a school, as the Acalanes spirit, but together, back at school, we need events to feel more united,” junior Gianna Bordi said.
Acalanes staff consider back-to-school events important in connecting students after a prolonged summer break and instilling a sense of belonging at the school.
“When we get together in the gym to celebrate the start of the year, or celebrate our fall sports, or celebrate the performance arts, our instrumental music program… they are an amazing celebration of what it means to be here, and the pride that we have here at our school,” Principal Eric Shawn said.
