A frequent question asked by new students and parents from out of state is “what is the deal with mums?” We usually answer that this is a Texas tradition without providing a historical answer. Homecoming mums began in Texas after the first homecoming event took place at the University of Missouri in 1911 - the official birth place of homecoming. Homecoming is a tradition designed to invite and welcome back alumni to a high school or university. The mum started as a chrysanthemum given to a girl by her homecoming date. As with most things, the mum has grown into more of an elaborate and larger piece of our culture in Texas. We are fortunate to have many PTO Volunteers who make mums for our students year round at WHS. The sale of these mums is a rather large fundraising event for the PTO which in turn benefits our students. Mums are still for sale and can be found at PTO Mums. Homecoming at Westlake High School involves a week long of spirit days followed by a Homecoming Pep Rally in the stadium on Friday morning. All of our fall sports are recognized during this event. Our Homecoming Court is crowned at halftime of the football game Friday evening. We have our annual Homecoming Dance on Saturday night, which was very well attended last year. Certain alumni groups will also be receiving a tour of the building on Saturday. We invite all of our students and staff to dress up for our spirit days. Homecoming is a tradition to celebrate the Westlake community and high school. We hope you will encourage your student to take part in our Homecoming events. In last year’s Reflections, I posted a picture from a simple Google search on 1980s homecoming dances. This picture caused a few folks to make some clever comments about the sweetness of my high school looks even though it was not me - it was a stock photo. So, I found a picture of me from the Kingwood Homecoming of 1989 to show how debonair I was back in the day. I had to take this from a photo album that resides in one of my daughter’s closets. As I took the picture, Reese suddenly had a million questions about my former life. Reese was then joined by her sisters, Mary Elizabeth and Kate, in the direct questioning of homecoming, how could I be a king, did I win the crown, why is my jersey tucked in so tightly, did Nikki win queen and why is my hair so long? While Nikki and I did not win any crowns that evening, I did have the chance to have a nice moment with my three girls. If you are looking for an avenue to begin having a lighthearted and whimsical conversation about your past, break out a homecoming picture or two over the next week!
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Steve Ramsey: WHS Principal BlogPrincipal's Weekly Reflections Archives
May 2019
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