Aquin Catholic High School celebrates homecoming this week
FREEPORT — Aquin Catholic High School’s hallways are humming with homecoming activities, and each grade level is distinguishing itself with radio-station themes.
Playing off the school’s mascot, a bulldog, seniors are the Fly Dawgs, making banners and floats with a hip-hop and rap theme. Juniors are Dawg Rock, with a classic rock theme. Sophomores are singing Bulldog Lullabies. Freshmen are Country Dawgs.
Big events include a parade at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, when floats will travel from the St. Joseph campus, 202 W. Pleasant St., down Walnut Avenue and Empire Street to the high school. There’s also Friday’s homecoming football game against River Ridge High School and Saturday’s alumni reunion in the auditorium and homecoming dance in the cafeteria.
Seniors began meeting over the summer to plan for homecoming. They’re looking forward to making yearbook memories before their last year at Aquin turns to studying and preparing for college.
“I guess it’s a port in the storm until we graduate,” senior Matt Martinez said.
High schoolers also are preparing for service projects at such places as Amity Daycare & Learning Center, nursing homes and the Freeport Area Church Cooperative.
Senior Josie Ehlbeck, 17, is most looking forward to contributing through service activities. So are some of the younger students.
Last week, sophomores Natalie Gustafson, Georgia James and Liz Julius still were anticipating homecoming’s fun times.
With lullabies as the class theme, they were making copies of their classmates’ baby pictures for various homecoming activities and projects.
Julius’s picture was in the stack.
“It doesn’t really look like me, in my opinion,” she told her classmates.
Her hair seemed to have a bit of static in the picture. Relatives liked to call her Fuzzy.
Why does she enjoy homecoming?
“It just kind of brings the whole school together.”