News

Homecoming, a Weekend to Remember

Your Royal Staff, Contributors

October 19, 2023

Homecoming weekend started with a drumroll and ended with students dancing the night away. It was a team effort that involved many groups across our district campuses. Students dressed based on themes to show their school spirit.

The Hempfield Area Cheerleaders and Marching Band started off the celebration as they played through the halls on Thursday before our pep rally. Mr. Kealey and Mrs. Lippa did a great job organizing the groups as they marched through the hallways and showed spirit at the pep rally. Senior drum majors Davis, Harrington, and McMullen said their goal is to “increase school spirit and get people pumped up.”

Hempfield Area High School Cheerleaders (Mallory Bitar)

Junior Rogan Katcher said, The band’s “coordinated efforts and inspiring sound really showed Spartan Spirit.”

At the pep rally, run by Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. Fetterman, and NHS, our Homecoming Court showcased skits that revealed their outgoing and creative personalities making the crowd laugh, and our freshmen won the grade level relay in the final competition!

On Friday, the parade preparations, under the direction of Mrs. Kellie Jugan, were underway. With Mr. Steeley and Mrs. Testa organizing, each school created a puzzle piece and float to represent our Hempfield Area Community. See One District; 9 Schools to read about our puzzle piece mural. NAHS and our Senior Class Officers jumped in to help create the high school float showing pathways to success.

Project 18 celebrated their 50th anniversary and created a 70’s themed float entitled “50 Years of Dedication and Harmony.” They dedicated their float to Dylan Walton whose trailer they adorned. They presented his mother, high school secretary, Sheila Albright, with flowers and a dedication sign.

Project 18 present Mrs. Albright with flowers in memory of her son, Dylan. (Mrs. Ashley Testa)

Finally, on Saturday, over 600 students danced the night away in the field house beautifully decorated by Spartan Planning Committee, United Spartans, and teachers, Natalie Fetterman, Katie Kertoy, and Nicole McCullough. A stunning pergola was built by our maintenance department who also dedicated themselves to making the space glow.

DJ, Mr. Emanuelson played songs chosen by students in advance and got the crowd excited as the night progressed.

Mrs. Fetterman, Mrs. McCullough, and Mrs. Kertoy, who planned the dance, pose with Mr. Emanuelson as the night begins. (Mrs. Natalie Fetterman)

Mr. Emanuelson acting as the DJ! (Mrs. Natalie Fetterman)

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, one that students will certainly remember.

About the Contributors

Laci Nease, Editor

Born in Latrobe but raised in Greensburg, Laci Nease is the Public Relations Officer for Hempfields' National English Honors Society, Secretary for Project 18, Editor for Journalism, and is apart of a youth mentor program involved through Wendover Middle School. She fills her life with work, friends, and family. When she is not taking photos for the Hempfield football team, Journalism, and Mini-THON, Laci enjoys hiking with her friends and family at Ohiopyle, playing dominos with her grandparents, and working two jobs- so she can start saving for college. If Laci is not working one of her two jobs and is not at school, then she is most likely at the gym learning about her mental and physical health, or she is digging through her closet to find clothes, shoes, and other accessories to sell and donate. In future years, she hopes to go to college to get her bachelors degree in accounting and finance and her associates degree in communications.

Mallory Bitar, Contributor

For 11 years, Mallory Bitar has been attending Hempfield Area School District and is a cheerleader for the varsity cheerleading team. Her goal is to encourage people from the sideline as well as the journalism lab. One of the most valuable things to Mallory is spending quality time with her friends and family. Her favorite thing about high school so far has been Friday Night Lights, where she gets to do what she loves with her best friends. With joining journalism to write for The Royal, Mallory is looking forward to sharing her opinions and thoughts about what is going on within the school and community. She has come to appreciate John Mayor's words, "Someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, be strong and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason."

Alyssa Manderach, Editor

Spartan pride runs deep for Alyssa Manderach, who is originally an Ocean City, Maryland native. She has spent the last 7 years working to embrace what it means to be a part of Hempfield Area. The Royal has been a dedicated passion of hers since she started writing for it two years ago during her sophomore year. Her work preserving events and memories for the newspaper has pushed her to pursue a career in journalism after graduating from college. Much of her time is also spent volunteering and working with the school as president of United Spartans. Between her time in these organizations, as well as many other clubs and honor societies, she has seen the opportunities to volunteer with local organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Beverly's Birthdays, and Westmoreland County Food Bank. Her plans for the upcoming years involve attending a four-year university, studying communications with a focus on media, so that hopefully she can enter the journalism field as a writer or editor.