The 50 year anniversary of Niles North High School will be celebrated this school year. The celebration consists of many exciting events including the 50th anniversary homecoming weekend.

This year’s theme for homecoming, “Dancing Through The Decades”, goes along with the 50th anniversary.

Caroline Benjamin, student activities director, said, “The idea of “Dancing Through The Decades” being our theme is looking back at not only how much the school has changed physically, but how diverse we have become and how much we appreciate the change. We’ve embraced it and we’re just so proud to be Vikings and to really understand what that means.”

Leading up to the big week at Niles North, there will be hallway decorating on Saturday, September 13 starting at 1:oo p.m. Similar to past years, during the hallway decorating event, students are invited to come into the school and decorate their class’ hallway. Also, clubs are invited to work on their banners for the homecoming parade during this time.

In addition to hallway decorating, there will be a homecoming lock-in the same day at 7 p.m. The lock-in is primarily focused on student government, but other students may attend if their club sponsor is willing to stay all night. During the lock-in there will be more decorating for homecoming week, an open gym, movies in the Student Commons and food.

Starting on Monday, September 15, homecoming week officially begins. The week will consist of spirit day themes and an Instagram contest, held by us at North Star, which entails prizes for the winners of each spirit day theme. The themes are as follows:

Monday is pajama day, Tuesday is twin day, Wednesday is sports day, Thursday is throwback Thursday and Friday is purple Viking gear.

Junior Alexandra Burbules said, “Not only is the Instagram contest a fun competition, but I think it also adds more spirit to spirit week.”

Also, on Monday, September 15, the annual PowderPuff football game will occur. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. Last year, the juniors won the game. Will the now seniors win again or will the win be with the new class of juniors?

When asked why someone should go to the PowderPuff game, Mandy Aragon, senior and returning Powder Puff team member, said, “How often do you get to see girls play football? It’s actually pretty scary.”

“Us seniors kind of have the upper hand here. Amanda Green and Kienya Jones are going to be big presences on the field, so we have a lot of options.”

Then, on Friday, September 19, Niles North will have its annual homecoming pep assembly. During the assembly, the fall sports teams will be recognized, the homecoming king and queen will be revealed, the spirit stick competition will be held and a variety of other entertainment will be exciting too.

Benjamin said, “Expect to see some competitive natures come out of teachers. Maybe some alumni will be a part of that too.”

Following the homecoming assembly on Friday, the varsity homecoming football game will take place. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings will play the Glenbrook South Titans.

Troy D’Souza, senior and North Star sports editor, said, “Both teams are currently undefeated, and while GBS is currently one of the top teams in the state, I think it will be a good match-up and nice test for the Vikings.”

Before the game starts, there will be a 50th anniversary homecoming parade. The parade will start at 6:30 p.m.

There will be a special 50th anniversary halftime show that consists of performances by the cheerleaders, Vikettes and other performances, including a performance that includes alumni. Also, like in previous years, there will be a fireworks show after the game.

On September 20, the homecoming dance will be held at Niles North in the main gym. Doors open for the dance at 7:00 p.m. The dance will end at 10:30 p.m. The theme of the dance follows the homecoming theme: “Dancing Through The Decades”.

Burbules said, “I’m really looking forward to being with my friends, dancing, and just having fun. I think the dance is going to be a lot of fun and will definitely be something to remember.”

To conclude the 50th anniversary week celebrations, Niles North will be open on September 21 for alumni tours from 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Students are welcome to volunteer to give tours or just to walk through the halls with the alumni to hear about how it’s changed since they were here.

In addition to the big 50th anniversary homecoming week events, alumni will be invited back for events put on by the clubs at Niles North. Each club will host an event for the alumni and students of the club. More information will be available as each event gets planned.

Also in celebration of the 50th anniversary, the Fine Arts Department will present the musical Hairspray. Alumni from Niles North and Niles East High School are invited to audition to be in the cast, orchestra, or backstage ensemble. More information on auditions will be available in late November.

“These events will only show a glimpse of how proud we are to be a part of Niles North,” Benjamin said. “They will give a really good idea of what Niles North historically has been about.”