Rock Hill’s annual homecoming celebrations will occur during the week of Sept. 12-16. Homecoming is a long-standing American tradition to raise community and school spirit in the fall of every school year. Although school traditions vary, Rock Hill’s homecoming events include a community pep rally, parade, football game, and dance.

Homecoming Preparations:
In order to prepare for all of the homecoming activities, Blue Hawk StuCo will be hosting various events the week prior to get the school festive.

General StuCo members helped the executives plan and communicate Homecoming details Tuesday, Sept. 6 and Thursday, Sept. 8, from 4:15-7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. A Mums with Friends event was held on Sept. 6 from 4:15-6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria, where students can make mums. A Hoco sign painting and decorating event will be held Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2:00 p.m. to get the campus fit for its “Hollywood on the Hill” theme. All groups and grade levels are welcome to participate in the event.

Homecoming Week Dress-Up Days:
To encourage school spirit and unite the student body, the festive week consists of various dress-up days where students deck out in the respective themes.

Monday, Sept. 12: Adam Sandler Day
Tuesday, Sept. 13: Frat and Sorority
Wednesday, Sept. 14: Anything But a Backpack
Thursday, Sept. 15: BBQ Dads vs. Soccer Moms
Friday, Sept. 16: Class Color Wars

Mums:
On the day of the homecoming game, girls can often be seen wearing an arrangement of ribbons, bells, and charms pinned to their clothing. This is a popular Texas tradition known as mums. Mums are made from artificial chrysanthemums extravagantly decorated with the school colors, except for senior mums, as those are usually white.

A girl will typically receive a mum from her date, who in return receives a garter. Garters are smaller versions of mums for boys to wear around their arms. Parents will often buy or make their child a mum or garter as a symbol of community pride.

Mums can be purchased through themumshop.com by Sept. 9. The base price for mums costs anywhere from $38 to $53, excluding the costs of personalized add-ons. All proceeds go to the Rock Hill tennis team. After purchasing, mums are available for pickup at Rock Hill on Sept. 13.

Homecoming Court:
For underclassmen, voting will take place on Sept. 6-8. There will only be one voting process for the underclassmen, and the top male and female nominees in each grade will be part of the Homecoming Court. Students are only able to vote for those in their grade.

Nominations for King and Queen will take place on Sept. 6-9. The top five nominees will be announced on Sept. 9 and will be part of the senior court. The voting for King and Queen will take place on Thursday, Sept. 15 and is open to students of all grade levels.

The Homecoming Court will participate in the parade on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Members of the court will be announced at the community pep rally and the football game Friday, Sept. 16. King and Queen will also be announced at the game.

Campaigns rules for this year include:
No negative campaigning of any kind, especially on social media.
Posters can be placed around campus as long as they abide by Rock Hill rules.
Social media posts must follow RHHS rules, including dress code.
Nominees can ask students to vote for them but cannot “bully” them.
Clubs can enoder a candidate but must have approval from the sponsor.
STUCO sponsors must approve anything beyond posters and social media posts.
Students are not allowed to take down other people’s posters or posts.
Students do not have to be a couple to be nominated.
You can only vote for students within your grade, but all students may vote for King and Queen on Sept. 15.

Homecoming Pep Rally/Parade:
The annual community homecoming parade and pep rally will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 14. At 6:30 p.m. This will be the second parade held by RHHS. Prosper ISD elementary and middle schools will also take part in the event.

At the parade, numerous RHHS sports teams and organizations had the opportunity to register for a float. As the decorated floats pass by, parents and children are encouraged to gather along the streets to collect candy and celebrate.

The community pep rally will be held in the Rock Hill arena following the parade. The pep rally will include performances from the cheer team, Rockettes, band, etc. There will not be a pep rally on Friday, Sept. 16, during school.

Homecoming Game
The varsity football game will begin at 7:00 p.m on Friday, Sept.16, against Braswell High School. It will be held at the Children’s Health Stadium. Tickets will be sold online through Ticket Spicket or at the gate with cash or credit card until they’re sold out.

Homecoming Dance:
The dance will begin at 7:00 p.m on Saturday, Sept 17 at Rock Hill. The theme for this year’s dance is “Hollywood on the Hill”. Students of all grades are eligible to attend with a ticket purchase. Tickets will be sold online through the RH Theatre Ticket Spicket. Tickets are only available through the Ticket Spicket Link.