Homecoming has long been a fun tradition for high schools, and this year Bearden’s celebration will be no different.

Bearden’s Homecoming Court has representatives from each grade as well as senior queen candidates. This year’s representatives are freshmen Ellie Foster and Carmen Alcocer, sophomores Reagan Ruth and Constance Paris, juniors Evelyn Patten and Haleigh Cooper, and seniors Shekinah McLaughlin, Tytiaira Spikes, Olivia Campbell, Chloe Baker, Sydney Schriver, and Eva Karnowski.

Each girl will have an adult escort – a family member or friend – on the field during the halftime ceremony.

SGA has chosen to continue last year’s idea of a casual dance because there was a positive response to it. This year, students can come straight to the “Glow with the Flow” dance decked out in their neon outfits from the football game.

“In previous years, we had students complain about how difficult it was to get from the football game to a semi-formal dance; students felt like they either had to come dressed up to the game, which was uncomfortable, or they had to go home and change in between which meant leaving the game early,” said Mrs. Rebecca Nutter, this year’s chair of the Homecoming dance.

“The logistics of keeping the dance casual and matching the football game theme to the dance theme seemed to make the most sense.”

Like in the past, the Homecoming dance will begin at 9 p.m. and will take place in the West Mall. The dance will end at 11:30.

At the dance, students can expect a DJ and refreshments in addition to dancing. The band Stonefish will also play the last half hour of the dance; Bearden seniors Ben Collins and Mac Chandler are members of this band.

The winning class of SGA’s spirit week participation competition will get free admission to the Homecoming football game, and tickets for the Homecoming dance are sold in the West Mall during lunch for $10, as well as at the door before the dance. There is limited space available for the dance so students are advised to purchase their tickets ahead of time.