Homecoming has always been a week filled with excitement and school spirit, even more so this year than ever before. For both returning new students, homecoming is a day of community and togetherness that embodies what Flint Hill is all about. Starting with students from 4th to 12th grade, school participation came out with a bang with an energetic, deafening prep-rally, followed by the Girls’ Varsity Soccer game and then the Varsity Football game.
Even though many things deserved a highlight, the number one thing to mention this year was Spirit Alley. This year, Spirit Alley featured new, innovative, and interesting ways to involve students and families alike with our very own clubs. The clubs featured this year included the Junior Optimist Club, the History Club, the Red Cross Club, the Clay Club, and the Classics Club. All of these clubs brought amazing energy with community-building activities that were extremely fun for students and staff alike. We would like to highlight their efforts to make homecoming a special experience for everyone:
The Junior Optimist Club, run by both Ariana Blake ’27 and Cillan Gray ’27, featured boredom bag making for Homecoming. When asked about the club, Ariana explained that the Junior Optimist Club is a service club that is affiliated with Optimist Clubs International. Furthermore, she states, “The Flint Hill Jr. Optimist club does a number of service projects throughout the year, with a focus on helping the elderly and youth.” Some of the projects carried out by the club last year included playing bingo at a local assisted living facility and delivering over 150 roses to the elderly on Valentine’s Day. Their Homecoming activity was inspired by the need to put together coloring packets for Children’s Hospital patients. She highlighted the importance of their work as a club and the community involvement. Ariana states: “It’s so helpful for these kids to have stuff to do when they’re sitting in the waiting room for doctor’s appointments or in a hospital room recovering. Many Flint Hill huskies, both alumni and students, contributed to making over 160 coloring packets for kids in need.” Ariana pointed out how inspiring it was when the community contributed to the cause; she said, “It was really inspiring to see how the kids were really into the cause of helping Children’s Hospital patients. Some of them even put one of their small toys in the packet as well. I felt like it strengthened the Flint Hill community to add a service project to the homecoming activities.” This club really highlights the togetherness and kindness of the Flint Hill community.
The Red Cross Club, run by Sophia ’28, a sophomore at Flint Hill, featured trivia about Fire Prevention Safety during the Spirit Alley. The purpose of the Red Cross Club is to inform and educate the community about the Red Cross Club’s objective. As stated by Sophia, “We are a service club that works closely with regional Red Cross representatives and activities to bring both fun and learning to our school.” The Red Cross Club also hopes to embody Flint Hill’s core values while changing the community for the better. During the Spirit Alley, as stated before, the Red Cross Club hosted trivia about Fire Prevention Safety. The club’s inspiration for the activity was the bonfire. The thought process behind, as stated by Sophia, was this: “Since there would be many children from the younger grades along with families, we thought it would be a good activity to incorporate both learning and fun into the evening. Our goal was to teach the children about fire safety because of the bonfire, as well as adding a fun aspect to it by giving the incentive of prizes if they answered questions correctly based on difficulty level.” The activity that the Red Cross made had a positive impact on the kids, parents, and staff who attended the booth, and made an activity that the kids can look forward to each year.
The History Club, run by Alec Sweet ’27, a junior at Flint Hill, is a club where students can talk about a shared passion for history. Alec Sweet stated that, “The History Club is devoted to the study of history and fostering a love of history in the Flint Hill Community.” Alec shared that the History Club is also a place where the members can learn and have a better understanding of past events, so they can understand the world around them. The activity that the History Club hosted during the Spirit Alley was hand-painting. Alec explained that their inspiration was cave wall art and that hand-painting was one of the oldest human-made arts that was timeless. This activity strengthened Flint Hill’s community by bringing together kids and adults, creating artwork by stamping their hands on a piece of paper to create a “powerful moral.”
Another highlight of the 2025 Homecoming was the bonfire. In unimaginable numbers, the community truly showed up and showed out at the bonfire this year. The bonfire, a tradition that has been carried out through the years at Flint Hill, was created in order to bring the community together and build school spirit. Students look forward to this event every year, and have shared some memories of what the bonfire means to them as new and returning students and staff.
Stella Obeng ’28, a sophomore at Flint Hill, shared with us her thoughts as a returning student about what she thinks the significance of the bonfire is. She commented, “When thinking about the Bonfire, I always feel a sense of community among my peers. It is a fun space, where we can all come together and celebrate our school’s community.”
After speaking with many students of all ages at Flint Hill, the common theme regarding the bonfire was the sense of community within the student body, which everyone felt when attending. Hopefully, next year’s homecoming will be just as good, if not better than this year’s, and let’s look forward to Spirit Alley and the activities Flint Hill students will come up with next year. Go Huskies!
