The Christ Church Upper School embraced its Southern roots during this year’s Homegoing Week. The theme was Southern Livin’ and everything south of the Mason-Dixon Line was featured in the school. When students arrived Monday, they found the entire school decorated. The Freshman turned “the cave” into a camouflage haven, while the Sophomores adorned the third floor with red-neck decor. The upperclassman took a different approach to their decorations. The Juniors decorated the second floor as the Country Music Hall of Fame, which harkened back to the mystery trip when the Class of 2014 visited the southern icon. The seniors took “Southern Prep” to the extreme with a cut-out of a peach tree and a beach theme in the front commons.
The celebrations went beyond decorations for Homegoing Week. The five dress up days were “Hunt or be Hunted,” “Reality TV Show Day,” “Southern Prep,” “Throwback Thursday” and finally, “Southern Livin’.” These days had a large amount of participation from the students. “Reality TV Show Day” seemed to be a favorite among the students. Seniors Caroline Jennings and Ling Campbell took a literal approach to TLC’s show “Little People Big World”; Jennings dressed as “The World”, and Campbell embraced her small stature and was a “Little Person.” Other TV shows that were featured included “Sarah Palin’s Alaska”, “Animal Hoarders”, “Toddlers and Tiaras”, and “Keeping Up with The Kardashians.”
Thursday was also a very popular day for students to dress up, particularly because of the wide array of costumes that could be designed for this “Throwback” theme. A group of Juniors were the highlight for Throwback Thursday when they dressed as the cast of High School Musical. The Upper School Cafeteria was shocked when the crew burst into song during the middle of lunch. The students lip-synced “Stick to the Status Quo” with Isaiah Hogue as Zeke, who has a dream to bake, Ellie Williams as Martha Cox, a brainiac with a secret passion for dance, Josh Rogers as a skater who loved to play the cello, and Reeves Major as the evil Sharpay.
Friday was the grand finale for the week of celebration. After a half day of classes and a catered lunch by Marquette’s, the upper school went to the auditorium to see the skits by the Homegoing Court. Mo Charungvat, Elliott Jarrett, Justin Trenor, Weston Nalley and Marshall Merline performed songs. Charungvat performed a version of “Gangnam Style” with help from Cassy Cuevas, and many Junior girls. Justin Trenor and Elliott Jarrett worked together to perform their mash up dance of popular hits, and Merline and Nalley also performed together. Their performance of High School Musical’s “Breaking Free” would have fit in perfectly on Throwback Thursday.
Justin Trenor and Elliott Jarrett worked together to perform their mash up dance of popular hits. This included the song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. Jarrett loved doing the skit, saying “I knew I wanted to do something with Justin, and we delegated the choreography to Sarah Spigner. She did a great job!”
All the boys performed well, and the crowd went wild after every performance. At half time of the Girl’s Varsity Basketball game, the winner was announced. Justin Trenor was voted the 2013 Homegoing King. A crowned Trenor, Homecoming Queen Eliza Geary, and the rest of the student body then cheered the Christ Church Cavaliers to victory in the Homegoing Game.
