Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
School community celebrates homecoming
School community celebrates homecoming
LONDON GROVE » With temperatures in the 80s and humidity high, the bottled water was selling like hotcakes at the Avon Grove Homecoming on Saturday.
But there was much more to eat, buy and enjoy than water on that occasion.
As soon as daybreak, kids and their parents were on hand to set up booths and bring in supplies for one of the biggest annual events on the school calendar.
The day began with what could almost be called the future vendors of America, then proceeded with a march up State Road. Homecoming was glorified with a football victory over Bishop Shanahan and high school royalty. The day concluded with a homecoming dance.
Hundreds took part, filling the parking lot and beyond all day.
The vendor tents run by the students raised money for some very good causes like helping hospital patients and club events, and fighting cancer.
One particularly impressive station was that of the All Culture Together club which sold tacos to order and ran a huge assembly line, moving the shell down the line and applying the ingredients that the customer ordered.
Another station supplying hamburgers on the grill supported the band.
One club sold gold-colored Christmas balls with the Avon Grove logo in maroon. They were designed by student Courtney Doyle, who produced them last year and decided to continue the tradition this year.
The homecoming parade was led by the band and flag team, followed by Grand Marshal Ruth
Nilan. Then came the respective kings and queens of the classes and the student floats.
Nilan, a retired ESL and Spanish teacher from the high school, taught for 35 years and was honored by the students this year.
She told them she was impressed with the growth of the district.
“In 1982 we had only 1,700 students in the schools and we didn’t have a stadium or even a football team. But my biggest memory is the students,” she said, adding, “I encourage you to continue to support your school.”
The homecoming king and queen were seniors Bryn Salamon and Austin Spangler. The junior royal couple was Jonathan Jiminez and Cheyla Gomez; the sophomores were Megan Schleniger and Martin Campana; the freshmen were Jimmy O’Hora and Alyssa Corsaro.
The band, decked out in black uniforms, performed at halftime during the football game, and the team gave the crowd the thrill of the day with a solid victory over Bishop Shanahan.
The Saturday Homecoming celebration was the conclusion of a week of events, and Principal Scott DeShong praised the students for carrying them out well.