Helias Homecoming: A Season of Spirit By Becca Maples   Helias students have shown once again what it truly means to have school spirit.  Homecoming Week 2007 was a huge success.  This year’s theme was seasons.  Each class was given a different one:  freshmen had summer, sophomores spring, juniors fall, and seniors winter. The week started off on Sunday, October 21, with the Powder Puff football and Power Puff volleyball games.  Juniors and seniors went head-to-head, as did freshmen and sophomores.  Even the teachers joined in the fun in a volleyball game against the seniors. The festivities continued throughout the school Monday through Thursday as the individual classes decorated the entire school according to their given themes.  Helias was turned first into a beach party, then a giant Easter basket, a Thanksgiving feast and haunted house all in one, and finally a winter wonderland.  On Friday the classes united for an all-school spirit day wrapped up by the Homecoming assembly. The feeling of school unity only snowballed through the next few activities.  Friday evening students either attended or appeared in the Homecoming parade; afterwards they huddled together on the capital lawn for the pep rally. Saturday’s proceedings led us increasingly closer to the main event.  The afternoon started the right way—the Helias way—with Mass in Rackers Fieldhouse presided by Father Brendan Doyle.  Immediately afterward students, teachers, parents, and fans alike once again raised their spirits at the tailgate outside of school. And then it was on to the game.  The Crusaders did not fail to put on a great show of talent and dedication in their defeat of the Mexico Bulldogs by a margin of 41-14. To put the lid on a heaping bowl of fun-filled activities, students headed to the local YMCA for the much-anticipated Homecoming dance.  Spirited and somewhat crazy football fans became elegant ladies and handsome men, all dressed in their best and ready to have a great time.  The frenzy of a week ended in style. “I want to congratulate the students on a good and positive Homecoming Week,” said dean of students Stan Ochsner in an announcement to the school the following Tuesday.  The key word in this statement to me is “positive.”  I’m not sure that Helias students even realize how positive their actions and celebrations are compared to those of most schools.  No matter where they are—whether it is a football stadium, a gymnasium, a parking lot, or a dance floor—Crusaders have their own standards for proper behavior.  They are a shining example of decorum and school spirit.  They also exemplify hard work.  Few grasp just how much effort Student Council members and the student body in general poured into every aspect of Homecoming Week.  As is proved by these noted Crusader attributes, October truly is a season of spirit at Helias High School.