The Independence Class of ‘21 took the win for hallway decorations for the first official Independence homecoming.

Freshmen sponsor and reading specialist, Mrs. Lisa Hughes was very excited to work with the freshmen. “Once I found out I was sponsoring freshmen, I was a bit nervous. Usually, no one wants to get involved during freshman year,” explained Hughes, “but this group was extremely different. I am so thankful I had one of the most creative, fun and hard-working groups.” 

Although the juniors won first place, and the sophomores took second, Hughes believes the freshmen should have won. Hughes told the freshmen how they could have done many more things to the hallway to increase their chances of winning such as covering the hallway lights, having more posters and making more props. It would have been harder considering the fact that the freshmen class did not have very much money to work with for their first year. 

Freshman Sydney Omo expressed her frustration about the loss. “It bothered me because the judging said you get more points if you make things instead of buying them, and I can guarantee you that we made more things than the juniors and sophomores combined. Maybe if we covered the lights with paper, they could have seen how good and well-done our hallway was compared to the other grades,” Omo said. Omo also brought up how fun the experience was and how much she enjoyed getting involved and doing something with her friends. 

The freshman class began their planning before the other classes, so they had a very good idea of what they were going to do. Omo said they spent time on all of their props to make sure they were perfect. She, as well as many of the other freshmen, believe that even though they may not have won, they still tried their best and had a beautiful hallway.

Hughes and Omo both agreed that the hardest prop to make was either the jail cell or the tiger. Omo said, “The tiger was very hard to put up against the wall and the painting was also difficult. The jail was also a struggle because it would not stand up at first, but we ended up getting it up and ready just in time.” They both enjoyed the other hallways but agreed the judging was unfair.