Forthcoming festivities are in full swing. After sign painting, dress up days and cancellation of a dance, football will play the high school’s first ever homecoming game Friday, Oct. 23.

The game will be at Children’s Health Stadium at 7 p.m. However, festivities may be in limbo in the midst of COVID-19.

“Forthcoming is more so looking forward to coming back,” assistant principal Dedrick Buckles said. “Homecoming is when you have students who are already graduated who get to come back and be part of the homecoming experience.”

As a result of no real alumni from the school, Rock Hill will host a forthcoming, or FOCO, instead of a homecoming. The school, however, isn’t the only new thing this year.

“We have to put in different procedures and protocols that have us think about safety first and foremost,” Buckles said. “We have to think about student safety.”

Precautions like this have impacted the new FOCO schedule.

“We’ve taken a few things into consideration,” Buckles said. “Whether or not those students are quarantining, and if we will be able to have an effective parade if we don’t have a lot of the participation able to participate.”

The school rescheduled the parade to November 15 in order to accommodate both Prosper and Rock Hill.

“It’s gonna be kind of awkward, they’re gonna have to learn how to adapt to it (COVID-19),” senior Auriel Bell said. “To be honest, I think it’s a little sad, but it’s understandable.”

Staff has made multiple compromises in order to accommodate to the changing COVID-19 guidelines.

“If the whole thing got cancelled, like the game and everything, I’d be upset,” senior Gracie Cooper said. “But (it’s okay) if it’s just the dance.”

Homecoming traditions are still set to take place, although they may look different.

“It’s pretty exciting, getting the chance to be FOCO king,” senior James Peterson said. “It would be really cool just for senior year, since it’s my last year in high school.”

Nominations for FOCO court are over, and voting starts and ends at Rockhill.voting4schools.com. Freshman through junior court will be announced at the Wednesday community pep rally, and senior results will be revealed at Friday’s game. Spirit days will occur throughout the week.

“I think it’s cool to dress up,” senior Carolina Alatorre Perez said. “I like to see other people dress up, but I just don’t.”

Dress-up themes are camouflage, meme day, Hawaiian day, Disney Pixar day and spirit day respectively. Students also participated in a sign-painting activity to show support.

“You’re basically just painting a sign,” sophomore Zoey Wilcox said. “It’s to represent your organization.”

Various signs decorate the hallways for this inaugural forthcoming week.

“You can still help create a culture,” Buckles said. “Be the first of your class to say ‘listen, when I was senior, I helped start that tradition at RHHS’.”

This is a different year, but to both teachers and students alike, spirit has not been quarantined.

“I hope people don’t give up on it completely,” senior Mikaela Woodard said. “We still need school spirit.”