One of the most exciting fall events of high school is Homecoming. Throughout  the week of September 18-23, there were  many interactive activities for the students to get involved in, making some epic memories that will last a lifetime.

This year’s Homecoming theme was Superheroes. Each grade level was represented by a different superhero. The freshmen class was represented by Batman, the sophomores were Superman, the juniors were the Incredible Hulk, and the seniors were Spiderman. This year’s Homecoming week was packed full of events such as: hallway decorating, dress-up days, lunch games, a pep rally, a parade and a big football game.

The start of Homecoming week kicked off strong with hall decorating. Hall decorating has been a long standing tradition at Carolina Forest. Students decorate the school’s hallways as Superheroes for the festivities of the week ahead. Hallways B, C, E, and G  looked like they came right from a movie set. The hallway was decorated from 11am-6pm on Sunday to be judged the following Monday morning by people from the school district. Hallway decorating is a serious event because its success  goes towards points to win the spirit stick. 

Jalina Paljusaj, a senior at Carolina Forest added, “The hall decorating was stressful for some, but overall fun and cooperative.The finish results came out great and the seniors deserved the spirit stick.”

Our Carolina Forest students’ school spirit did not disappoint as many dressed to impress in partaking with the school spirit days. The dress up themes for the week were the following: Monday/Superhero Day; Tuesday/Adam Sandler Day; Wednesday/Everyday Hero Day; Thursday/Color Me a Hero; Friday/Blackout. Student participation was counted to see what grade level will win the spirit stick.

Lawson Barnes, a junior varsity football player at Carolina Forest stated, “My favorite day was everyday hero day. Jesus is my everyday hero, and I had the perfect hair to do it, so I didn’t disappoint. It was very fun to be walking around with everyone else asking to take photos.”

During lunch Carolina Forest students participated in games: Monday/Frozen T-shirt; Tuesday/Three legged race; Wednesday/Hungry Hungry Hippos; Thursday/Scavenger Hunt; Friday was Hot Wings Contest. Each grade level competed in the lunch games to gain points for the coveted spirit stick. These games made lunch very interesting for the students. 

Kaitlyn Doyle, the student body president and a senior at Carolina Forest commented, “I loved how involved people were and that they were able to enjoy Homecoming.”

Carolina Forest has not had an in-person pep rally since 2019, and it sure did not disappoint anyone. The pep rally began with the excitement of the football players running onto the field. Carolina Forest’s school spirit was able to shine as everyone banded together to cheer on all of the fall sports players as they played various games. Two of the games played were tug of war and bubble war. Then the students eagerly watched to see who would become the champion in each event. The Carolina Forest color guard performed along with the band as students were able to show support from the student section. The football players and the cheerleaders participated on the sidelines to encourage students to cheer even more. 

Olivia Gallagher, a senior at Carolina Forest added, “I personally enjoyed that we were outside, and for the first time I felt like a senior.” 

After school there was even a delightful parade with all the feeder schools able to participate alongside the Carolina Forest High School students. The high school students who  participated in the parade were the marching band, color guard, our Student Council driving the grade level golf carts, Future Farmers of America, Homecoming Court, the football team, and the cheer team. The feeder schools in the parade were River Oaks Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary, Carolina Forest Elementary, Ten Oaks Middle Cheer, Ocean Bay Middle Cheer, and some other participants. 

Anne Caroline Jordan, a junior class senator at Carolina Forest, stated, “I enjoyed how I got to connect with my community and show off my class’s hard work on our golf cart.”

Homecoming Court is a long standing tradition at Carolina Forest.  The Carolina Forest  students are proud to participate in or to vote for students to win. The official Homecoming Court was announced at the pep rally during the school day, This included Cole Satterwhite as Freshman Prince and Ava Williams as Freshman Princess; Mark Allen as Sophomore Prince, Brooke Geoghean as Sophomore Princess; Ethan Hamilton as Junior Prince; and Sofia Morant as Junior Princess, Andrew Buffkin as Senior Prince, and Isabella Ballo as Senior Princess. 

Then after the long-awaited announcement during halftime with Carolina Forest’s talented color guard, Jackson McCoy was announced as the Senior King and Maya Elbadawy as Senior Queen. 

Maya Elbadawy, Carolina Forest Homecoming Queen added , “I am so grateful for winning Homecoming Queen. I cannot thank my fellow classmates enough for voting for me. This has truly made my senior year of high school one that I will never forget. I feel so overwhelmed and joyful to be your Homecoming Queen. Forever grateful. Go, Panthers!!”

Carolina Forest High School ended the Homecoming event with a bang as we played a long-time rival: North Myrtle Beach High School. This was a home game and took place right in Carolina Forest’s football stadium. All the students wore black to continue the black-out theme of the day. The Black Hole was packed with fans as was the football stadium. The cheerleaders pumped up the crowd and the band played as fans screamed with each yard made. The final score of the game was CFHS 49 and NMBH 21. This was the perfect ending for Homecoming. 

Homecoming will continue to be a tradition at Carolina Forest High School to bring “super” school spirit to all the students. There is a little something for everyone to feel a part of high school. It is a positive way to start the school year.