Homecoming Week at Helias By Brad Lorang   Homecoming Week at Helias—sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?  With the parade and pep rally, the Saturday night win over Mexico, and another successful Homecoming dance, there really is nothing quite like it. The weekend began on Friday at the school pep assembly with the entire student body gathered as one.  However, Homecoming week begins long before that day.  Before reaching the camaraderie felt during the weekend, each class was given a chance to boast. The freshmen met at four o’clock Sunday afternoon in the Helias parking lot with supplies and ideas to turn the school into one big beach house.  This year’s Homecoming theme was the four seasons, and the freshmen filled the hallways with scenes of summertime festivities. On Monday morning the rest of us enjoyed seeing what the freshmen could do.  Immediately after school the sophomores began work on making the school a giant flowerbed.  Spring was in the air the following morning when students arrived at school.  A touch of Easter was evident in some hallways, with plastic eggs hidden in every corner. The juniors decorated the school with images of Halloween and included every fall sport somewhere in the building.  The juniors had a little more Homecoming experience than the freshmen and sophomores and put together a wonderful show of artistic creativity. However, at the end of the week it was the seniors who showed everyone why they were the best.  School started an hour later than usual on Thursday due to the “snow schedule” requested by the seniors.  When students arrived that morning they saw crazy seniors sledding down the hill in front of school—yes, sledding.  That night, senior students dumped four truckloads of snow from the ice arena in front of school to give it a unique winter effect.  Once inside, the temperature seemed to drop.  There were snowflakes in every direction and countless students dressed as Santa Claus walking the halls.  “Jingle Bells” played over the intercom between classes, and Christmas cards covered every locker in the building. The class competitions came to an end on Friday when everyone gathered for the pep assembly.  There were no classes that stood out form the others; instead, we were united.  This was the perfect way to bring the craziness we experienced to a close, reminding us that we are one and there is nothing that truly separates us. That’s not going to stop me from brainstorming for next year’s decorations, though—I have to get a head start on the competition!