From Oct. 14 to Oct. 17, students participated in spirit days consisting of twin day, decades, pink out and class colors to promote enthusiasm leading up to homecoming weekend.
At the end of the day, on Oct. 17, students attended the SGA homecoming pep rally comprised of routines from cheer, poms and the Get Groovy Club. The varsity fall sports introduced themselves and each grade level unveiled their outer-space themed homecoming float, with seniors taking the cash prize. “We spent almost a month planning the pep rally. We had to make the schedule, figure out what groups should perform and which game we wanted to do at the pep rally. I hope students enjoyed the pep rally and felt more of our school spirit,” senior and SGA member Maddy Mathew said.
On Oct. 18, after the long-awaited football game with a win against Watkins Mill, students gathered in the upper parking lot to get their wristbands and head to the lower gym to celebrate Gloco.
A traditional homecoming entails getting ready, taking pictures with friends, dinner and a dance. After consistently low student attendance at the dances in years prior, SGA decided to take a different approach and brought about Gloco, an out-of-this-world dance for students to attend directly after the Friday homecoming game in their spirited blackout and neon attire. “I was also a part of coming up with the idea with SGA last year to try this so it’s special to me because I feel like I was a part of conceptualizing what Gloco is. I think that any homecoming has the potential of being great but I think that what we do here really stands out,” Principal Douglas Nelson said.
With the purchase of a $10 ticket, students could eat, dance with friends, get temporary tattoos, take pictures in the photo booth and play games. “My favorite thing about Gloco is the variety of options our students have and participate in,” sophomore and SGA member Gabi Estrada said.
The general excitement in the atmosphere of the event was what stood out to attendees. “The DJ played some really good songs and it really brought up the energy in everyone. There are people sweating on the dance floor and it’s really exciting,” junior and SGA member Paige Euler said.
According to Nelson, whether it is raising the money to sponsor it, determining the logistical elements of how the event will run, working alongside the PTSA to secure food and beverages or planning the fun games and decorations, students are responsible for putting together every aspect of Gloco. “Everything that is handed out, it all comes down to students and I think that is just the best part about Wootton. Our students step up in a thousand ways to make things happen and it’s a big and wonderful event,” Nelson said.
Gloco serves to elicit enthusiasm, lift morale and prompt a sense of liveliness among students but at its core is an annual opportunity to bring together the school community in a festive manner. “My favorite thing about Gloco is that we all come together. I think we do something with this event that other schools just don’t do. We follow up a football game with a super fun event and it brings everyone together,” Nelson said.
With Gloco on Friday, for some students, homecoming activities persisted through the rest of the weekend. “On Saturday my group and I took pictures in our dresses outside my house and then we went to Residents (a restaurant in D.C.) and then after, we went to the monuments to take more pictures,” Rudolph said.
