Deck the Halls

It’s that time of year again in 2026. Homecoming halls are back in production. But these halls seem to appear out of nowhere one morning. How do these decorations come to life? Who is behind them?

If you are new to Wheaton or don’t know what HoCo halls are, they are a yearly tradition where students from each graduating class decorate an assigned section of the building based on the theme that they are given. This year, the theme is “Wheaton Goes Animated,” where each class decorates posters for halls based on a cartoon. For example, seniors are doing Phineas and Ferb, juniors are doing Avatar, sophomores are doing Coraline, and freshmen are doing Minions. While all of that is great, not everyone knows what it is behind the scenes and what goes into decorating the halls. 

Some people might not have come to like this theme and are probably wondering how the themes were picked. We asked Mr. Stonemeier, the sponsor of the Wheaton SGA, about the process of picking themes. He expressed that “the students pick the themes", and they are discussed among SGA officers during a lunch meeting. "They were already chosen toward the end of last school year.” Because each class has to decorate a huge area of the building, we also asked him how the materials are managed. Each graduating class has to manage their own materials. The school doesn’t provide anything, meaning that it’s entirely funded and managed by the students; however, the only nuance is that there are adults in the room to make sure that everything is safe.

If you're interested in the overall production process, we also interviewed students who were out working. We asked Walusha Fernandes, ‘27, how students prepare decorations. “We’re here every day after school," she points out. "Some are making the backgroundsome are painting, some are even building. The night before the Homecoming game, students stay at school late setting up.” Perhaps you didn't know how much work went into the halls that you see and admire. A lot of work goes into them. We also asked her how the production team feels about creating the halls. “It’s not really stressful, but there’s a deadline to uphold on October 1st, and the starting day to help to decorate is the beginning of school. It’s just students working on it.” It's a fun team-building event that doesn't require stress. If this sounds like an opportunity you are interested in, we asked Ranen Gizaw, ‘27, about how students can help. “People can show up every day after school to help paint backgrounds, and store them back since they are huge projects.” So all is to say is that you simply have to show up--no form, no check-in. Get in contact with your class’s SGA officers for more information. The students are friendly and welcoming. Just come in and ask, “What can I do to help?”

If you are creative and enjoy arts and crafts, we encourage you to help out decorating for next year!

Copy edited by Walusha Fernandes