Around Campus
Homecoming
By: Genevieve Adamow '25On Friday, October 15, 2021, Archbishop Wood High School held its annual Fall Homecoming dance, the first one since Covid-19 hit in March of 2020. This dance also happens to be the first major event our new Assistant Principal of Student Affairs, Mrs. Ellis, has helped coordinate at Archbishop Wood. “Being a part of Homecoming this year was absolutely exciting. It brought me back to when I went to high school here…Personally, I think this dance was perfection. But if you can build on perfection, then go right ahead!” she told me. I also learned that we sold exactly 600 tickets this year, with 598 Archbishop Wood students attending the homecoming.
Planning homecoming was a large portion of the Student Council’s job this year. Dominic Petruzzelli, President of the Student Council, said “I knew coming in last year, we had to make homecoming the best one yet….We actually made and presented a full 2-page paper for Mrs. O'Grady that covered almost everything that we wanted to happen, from where the students parked to where we wanted them to enter. Any questions she had for us, we had an answer.” Abby Kearney and Maggie Schluth, both seniors on the Student Council Executive Board, were selected to be Heads of the Homecoming Planning Committee.
“We had a great committee to work with and I think that was such a major part of the outcome. Mrs. Kasperski, Mr. Flood, and Mr. Schmidt were a huge help with the whole process, too.” Schulth said when asked about the Homecoming Committee. Kearney stated “I was on the committee the last two years at McDevitt, so I had some experience coming into the committee.” Both told me that their fellow Student Council members on the committee were extremely reliable and hard working. “We couldn’t have made homecoming so great without everyone who helped.” Schluth said, while Kearney said “I really do appreciate everyone who came out to the dance, who supported Archbishop Wood.”
Feedback from the student body was also excellent. Through my reporting I was able to receive many anonymous responses from some students in each grade. One of the overwhelming responses that we got was that homecoming outside was a great idea. Most of the students I spoke to seemed to enjoy it more than the one we typically have inside. We had a positive response to the decorations this year as well! 100% of the students I spoke to said they liked the decorations.
I also got some written feedback from some people, and their comments speak for themselves. One individual wrote “I had a really great time this year and would love to go next year”, while another wrote “It was fire!”. Petruzzelli told me “This is going to sound weird, but I’m not a big dancer. Yet the dancing and jumping around was my favorite part of homecoming. I had never been to the front [of the dance floor] before, because the underclassmen are usually in the back, so being there was really cool. Other than being hit by some, I also loved the sparks coming from the DJ booth.”
Overall, this year's homecoming dance was a huge hit in the Archbishop Wood High School Community, and this reporter can’t wait until next year’s dance!
Senior Costume Day
By Jack James '22Senior Costume Day has come and gone once again! The day was full of excitement as costumes ranging from boxers to insurance mascots, traversed the halls of Wood. The seniors were all called to the auditorium for the costume parade, which was broadcasted to the whole school. Cheers and shouts were let out for the various costumes. Groups of police officers, mimes, and blind referees moseyed across the stage, all competing to go home with the award for best costume. Ultimately, the herd of mimes won Best in Show. When asked about their victory, they simply gestured a thumbs up and an uncomfortably long smile. Following them, the Scooby-Doo gang won Best Costume and to everyone’s surprise, the trio of insurance mascots from Progressive, Liberty Mutual, and Farmer’s, won Best Homemade Costume. As a senior myself, I’d say this was a pretty successful and unproblematic day.
A Very Wood Christmas
By: Genevieve Adamow '25The classic “12 Days of Christmas” were altered this year to fit Archbishop Wood’s Student Council's “7 Days of Christmas”. Abby Kearney, a senior on the Student Council, brought the idea of the 12 Days of Christmas Activities to the Council, from her previous school, Bishop McDevitt. Due to the size of Wood, though, StuCo had to slightly alter the activities, making them now only span 7 days, from December 14 to 21. Dominic Petruzzelli, senior and president of the Student Council, said “We had to make up about 18 proposals to be able to bring the idea to Mrs. Ellis, and 7 of them ended up getting accepted,”.
This was also the first year StuCo was able to have the entirety of the Student Body participate in the Christmas activities they had planned. Petruzzelli stated, “It was difficult planning activities during the lunches because we don’t have Student Council coverage during every single lunch period, so we had to have Mrs. Ellis help out during some periods.” He also mentioned that during every lunch period, over 60 students participated in their Christmas Kahoot on December 16. Overall, the Student Council received a great response when it came to their “7 Days of Christmas”.
Along with the Student Council run Christmas activities, there was also a new Christmas project added to Wood: A homeroom door decorating contest! Mrs. Dugan triumphed over the competition in room 243, with an elf themed door titled “Take an Elfie!” Coming in as honorable mentions were Wood’s TV Studio homeroom and Student Council homeroom, both with holiday themed doors.
The Student Council also decorated our north and south side breezeways, with snowmen and paper Christmas lights draped over each window. In charge of the hallway decorations was Tess Fleming, senior and Student Council Secretary. “It was definitely a lot of work, but with all of the help from the decorating committee, we made the hallways look great.” This was the first year she has headed a Student Council committee, and told me “It was so much fun!”
To end off Archbishop Wood’s final week of activities, Sister Joanne and Mr. Monaghan, both music directors at Archwood, held a lovely Christmas concert on Tuesday, December 21, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. Featured in the concert were Wood’s very own Strings Ensemble, Concert Band, and Choir, who enchanted their audience members with holiday songs, such as “Winter Wonderland” and “All I want for Christmas is You.” An attendee of the Christmas concert stated “During Covid times, it was enjoyable to see the students together.” Brendan Annulis, a freshman and clarinet player in Concert Band, said “It was really cool to see the band come together and perform everything we had been working on for quite a while. Everyone did a great job!”
Overall, Christmas at Archbishop Wood was a huge success, and the entire Viking Voice staff wishes you all a happy and healthy 2022!