Homecoming week always promises an overflow of exciting activities for students such as the carnival, assembly, football game, and dance. But none of these would be possible without the brains behind it all- the student government.

Every year the student government is responsible for making homecoming week run smoothly and ensuring that it builds unity among the student body. They make the final decisions in regards to the themes of the spirit days all the way to the special performances at  the assembly.

This year however, the student government had their work cut out for them as the football schedule dictated by the AIA scheduled  an early date for homecoming week complicating planning.

Senior Makayla Palmer, secretary of the senior class, explained that the members of the student government “had to start some of the planning at the end of last year so we could get right to work when we got back in school.” Palmer also revealed  that many decisions had to be made in smaller groups because of the shortage of class time to discuss ideas.

In spite of the challenges regarding the early date, the student government worked double time to ensure the hype of homecoming week was not lost.

Due to the current buzz surrounding the 2016 Olympic Games, “The Fire Within” was selected as the theme for the anticipated homecoming week.

Jillian Harris, a sophomore student representative, explained, “We thought Rio would be best since the Olympics were coming up and everyone could get hype.” She also related that the decorations that go along with the patriotic theme would be intriguing for students and fun for them to create.

The theme of “Rio” had students buzzing with Olympic and school spirit complete with “tacky tourist” and “synchronized swimming” day.

Jackson Daniels, student body secretary, provided a behind the scenes look at the process of choosing those spirit days. “We have our usual round of spirit days which include twin day and any type of solid color day, and a funky one to increase spirit.”

After planning the standard days, Daniels explained that the class then proposes ideas and as a group, sorts through them, and decides which best fit the theme of that year.

Homecoming week at any high school is an unforgettable event, and here at Perry we have the student government to thank for the memories.