Moving into the fall festivities presents itself as one of the most festive times of the year. It’s the official kickoff for students’ favorite time of the beginning of the year: Homecoming! This is a week to spend time with friends and family, which results in memories being made and living in the moment. At this time of year, we celebrate with friends and the highest amount of school spirit hangs in the air. It’s Homecoming Weekend – 3 days of getting all dressed up and going to hangout with friends!
Powder Puff
The tables have turned! The tradition of Powder Puff is one in which typical roles of football players and cheerleaders are reversed. That is, girls become the football players and boys become the cheerleaders on the sidelines. The senior cheerleaders definitely brought their finest school spirit to support their senior football players. In fact, senior students such as Dylan Zelle and Cole Baklashev could be found multiple times on the shoulders of other senior boys, forming an enthusiastic pyramid of encouragement. The flag football game was not the only highlight of the evening as the lip sync round of the Mr. Osage competition took center stage prior to the final game. Cole Baklashev, Josh Davis, Caleb Wedel, Adian Williams, and Isaac Williams put on their best performances, complete – sometimes! – with backup dancers. Caleb Wedel received the People’s Choice Award with the most audience applause for his rendition of Taylor Swift’s song “Bad Blood.” He first surprised the audience with his rap portrayal of Kendrick Lamar and then transformed into Taylor Swift, complete with a full blonde wig, silver sequin jacket, and purple fringe skirt.
“We are the champions, my friends, and we’ll keep fighting till the end.” Queen’s lyrics echoed through the air as seniors sauntered victorious off the football field on Wednesday night at Osage High School. Two 15-minute halves and a pair of touchdowns by Bailey Groth and Caitlyn Sullivan sealed the deal on the 2024 Powder Puff game. The seniors had previously beaten the freshmen to claim one of the semi-finalist spots. They then went head-to-head with the sophomores who had just emerged as winners in the sophomore vs. junior battle.
Homecoming Parade
From grade level floats to Indian spirit floats to sports, lots of families got involved as well as students to craft their finest float. The homecoming parade was brought together so perfectly. An expression from a member that attended the parade is this: “This has been the biggest crowd out here!” The parade gets all the little Indians excited; they enjoy being a little Indian, knowing that they can do those things one day. The parade shows off what Osage is full of, what our community has done for this family. About 50% out of the 34 students who chose to fill out a survey got to participate in the parade! The other half stayed home or attended to enjoy the show.
Pep- Assembly
Before we kick off the dance, we come together as a school and prep each other for the excitement and hype for homecoming! This moment involves listening to the band play, watching students participate in fun little games, testing the loudness of each grade level, and mostly getting the teachers involved in the hype! The pep assembly gives you goosebumps and introduces you to one of the best nights of your life and you’re not going to want to miss out. This is always a blast seeing which class can get the LOUDEST for the spirit stick! The class of 2026 ended with the spirit stick. Mr. Osage (Aiden Williams) was crowned!
Football game
Osage Indians Vs. Boonville Pirates. As we kick off to start the game, the student section gets loud and wild. We stand out because we all decked out in white and maroon showing off the school spirit!
As we chant for our team for success, we gather as an Osage family and enjoy the time we have together, and we get the loudest. During half time, the homecoming court is shown, and the King and Queen get announced! Genevieve Ribaudo was crowned the Fall 2024 Homecoming Queen, and the marching band showed some of their show “Sweet dreams.” The Osage Indians took the lead with a final score of 33 to 7.
Dance
A great way to cap off a great game is a homecoming dance. Students attend as staff and the Osage family puts together a dance. They play music and provide snacks and drinks. Girls and boys spend a lot of time picking out their outfits, getting the right shoes, and schedules for before and/or after the dance. The students and staff make sure to bring spirit and hype to homecoming. I asked students what they thought about the theme of the year’s dance, the rules for going to homecoming (85% or higher attendance rate,1 failing grade max, and no ISS or OSS). Senior Liz Timmons replied with,”I wish that the attendance rate stayed the same but with the ISS and OSS I feel as if it’s a little too extreme because if you get it at the beginning of the year it ruins the 2 days students look forward to”. Senior Liz Timmons quotes, “My senior homecoming was the best homecoming out of the all 4 homecoming dances I have been to. This year was full of pure joy, screaming my heart out, and dancing to the amazing music they provided.” School of the Osage homecoming provided a fun and interesting DJ, fun lights and some amazing staff to make this night fun and memorable for students! I strongly agree with her, the Homecoming dance was a blast, and the staff worked hard to create a wonderful night for all the students. Thank you staff! Another student Kyle Ghumm, a senior, stated the dance “was awesome. I liked the choice of music from the DJ. That was cool!” These comments were followed by “I think the staff did an amazing job because this was the best year yet!” My personal experience at the dance was amazing Senior Madysin Washia agreed with Kyle: this was the best year yet!
