Southwest Valley Homecoming week starts Monday, and the theme this year is Hollywood: Lights, Camera, Homecoming.
High School Principal Jennifer Bissell told KCSI the student council plans the week. Dress-up days are the same in every building — Corning Elementary, Sylvia Enarson Elementary, Southwest Valley Middle School in Villisca, and Southwest Valley High School in Corning.
Dress-up days
• Monday, Sept. 21 — Celebrity Day. Students may dress as a celebrity, TV character, or cartoon character.
• Tuesday, Sept. 22 — Lookalike Day.
• Wednesday, Sept. 23 — Night In / Pajama Day.
• Thursday, Sept. 24 — Ages Through the Years.
• Friday, Sept. 25 — Spirit Day.
Thursday’s “Ages Through the Years” breakdown:
• Freshmen: infants
• Sophomores: little kids
• Juniors: barbecue dads and soccer moms
• Seniors: senior citizens
• Kindergarten through fifth grade: barbecue dads and soccer moms
• Sixth through eighth grade: senior citizens
• Teachers and staff: dress your student’s age
Bissell said she usually joins a few of the dress-up days and will try to do more this year. Friday is treated as a Homecoming Day at the high school, including finishing floats that morning. The district calendar lists a noon dismissal on Friday, Sept. 25.
Thursday, Sept. 24 — cake auction, pep rally, coronation
Y-Teens hosts its annual cake auction on Thursday. Members decorate cakes or cupcakes and auction them to the crowd. Proceeds stay with the chapter. Bissell said Southwest Valley’s Y-Teens chapter is one of the last two remaining in Iowa. The group also runs blood drives, a service-learning project, and an annual leadership conference.
A pep rally and coronation follow at 7 p.m. Thursday at the football field.
Friday, Sept. 25 — pep rallies, parade, football
Friday morning, athletes, the band, the dance team, and cheerleaders take pep rallies to the Villisca middle school campus and to Corning Elementary.
The Homecoming parade steps off at 2 p.m. in Corning on the traditional route. The parade entry form is on the district Facebook page and in the high school office. Forms are due Monday, Sept. 21.
Friday night football is at home against AHSTW at 7 p.m. The Homecoming court will be recognized at halftime.
Saturday, Sept. 26 — dance
The Homecoming dance is Saturday, Sept. 26, from 8 to 10 p.m. in the high school commons. Students from other schools may attend. An out-of-town guest form must be signed by an administrator at the guest’s school and returned to Southwest Valley. Bissell said students have been told that deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Four weeks into the school year, Southwest Valley High School Principal Jennifer Bissell says the days are already moving fast — and the biggest change inside the building is on the clock
The high school dropped A/B block scheduling this fall and went to an eight-period day. Students now see all of their classes every day instead of four classes on rotating days.
“We were originally on block, so we had an A/B day. Every other day we had four classes, and then this school year we went to an eight period. So all classes on the same day, and then run that every day of the week.”
Bissell said the switch was going to be a transition for students and staff, especially around lesson planning and keeping students engaged. She likes the change. Students, she said, are still getting used to it.
“Anything takes time getting used to. But as we’ve gotten into it, I think it’s been very good for the learning, behavior, and engagement.”
Enrollment at the high school is holding steady, Bissell said, with class sizes similar to recent years. Official certified counts come later; Iowa has two count dates this year.
