Cherry Hill High School East’s Homecoming weekend kicked off on Friday, Oct. 18 during the schoolwide pep rally.
East held shortened classes earlier in the day and began the festivities at 1:45 p.m. Students filed into the DiBart Gym to watch the cheerleaders perform. Some football team players also performed front flips and cartwheels across the floor mats. Teachers and student representatives from East’s fall sports teams played games on the gym floor, such as relay races and musical chairs.
Since the Class of 2026 raised more than its goal of 500 dollars at the Chipotle fundraiser, student government representatives got to sell raffle tickets throughout the week. Lukas Ortega (‘26) bought the winning ticket and had the opportunity to pie Mr. Finkle during the rally.
Later in the day, East hosted its Homecoming football game against the Deptford High School Spartans. Many students showed up to support their team, numerous wore pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After the marching band and color guard’s halftime performance, the Homecoming Court gathered on the field for the announcement of the two winners. Students voted for their favorite two candidates from eight nominees: Aarav Bommu, Aline Tang, Christina Coen, Jessica Zhou, Kyle McCann, Maggie Pierlott, Rephael Shohat, and Krishna Patel – all seniors. Pierlott and Zhou were crowned winners right before the second half of the game began.
Two quarters later, East extended its undefeated streak to 7-0 with a 35-14 win over Deptford.
The Homecoming weekend celebrations didn’t end there, however, because the Hocoween dance was scheduled for 7 p.m. the next day. Over 950 tickets were sold, and attire varied from Halloween Costumes to formal wear.
DJ Justin Ridgeway played a mix of classic dance songs like “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and modern hits such as “Hot To Go” by Chappell Roan.
Cafeteria 1 was open for students to take pictures at a photo booth or grab food. There were cupcakes, cookies, slices of pizza, and soft pretzels available alongside water dispensers at the refreshments table.
The Thespian Society also offered tarot card readings to fundraise for the East theater program.
The dance floor and DJ were located in Cafeteria 2 and could be accessed by walking along a path through the courtyard. This new tactic was different from previous years because it directed students outside rather than through a makeshift hallway inside.
“I liked how during the dance they made everyone walk outside through the courtyard instead of the small hallway like last year, there was more space to move around. People also utilized the outside area more” said Aly Plevinsky (‘27).
Midway through the night, those who wore costumes lined up in front of the dance floor for the costume contest judging. The winners: Sarah Popescu (‘27) and Oliver Neary (‘27), were given a special shout-out for their commitment to their costumes. Neary went as Freddy Fazbear from the video game Five Nights at Freddy’s and Popescu was a plague doctor.
“The contest was an assortment of oddities; I’m proud to be one of the most effortfully odd of them!” Popescu said.
Logan Freedman (‘27) is the vice president of her class and believes Homecoming weekend was a success. She said, “I think that Homecoming this year was a great opportunity to embrace the new school year and introduce the new freshman class to East traditions like the dance!”
