Winner, winner—chicken dinner.

This year’s Homecoming dance brought all kinds of new thrills with its “Ocean’s 11” theme, providing students with a chance to have a good time. Playing card decorations, Blackjack tables and Vegas-themed tickets all contributed to a night that transported students from Springfield to Sin City.

The dance wasn’t the exciting thing about the annual celebration. Spirit Week offered themed days that were also relevant, playing off the names of popular Las Vegas hotels. And while the new Spirit Days were popular a few students missed their chance to be odd.

“I missed Wacky Tacky Day,” said junior Isabelle White, who enjoys participating in the festive week. Quite a few students, however, sported togas instead, in a nod to being different.

In another difference this year, the celebrations were extended because of weather. In last Wednesday’s Powder Puff games, the seniors and sophomores emerged victorious.

The Mr. Spartan competition let participants show off their talents, too. Senior contestants performed everything from movie scenes to popular song mash-ups, but all the acts had one common theme: dancing. Although the competition was tough, Senior Matt Barrett took the crown with his hilarious and memorable tribute to “Blades of Glory.”

“Everyone had such funny skits this year and it was hard to compete,” said Barrett, who also performed during his junior year. “The only reason I feel as if I won is because mine was such a different kind of show.”

The evening’s performances showcased the skills of six senior boys, including Barrett, Lee Gleason, Ali Kazmi, Michael Kim, Glenn Shellenberger and Jake Trump. Even though only one could win, they all exercised their avid enthusiasm and spirit.

“It says a lot to be nominated, but to actually win it has a whole different meaning and all the hard work paid off,” said Barrett.

With the week’s events wrapped up, Friday night brought all devoted Spartan fans into the stadium. Spartan Football played a relatively quiet game until the last forty-one seconds, when we claimed our first points of the game and victory over the South County Stallions.

Despite the slow start, the crowd was enthusiastic. The student section showed their spirit with body paint, trashcan drums, and chants that continued regardless of the scoreboard.

During halftime, each class float was showed off and judged, and the senior class took the victory over the other grades. It was also the Class of 2011’s fourth victory, giving them the title every year they had here. For the Homecoming princesses, this was also the time when the final tallied votes crowned the queen.

“The usual homecoming queen doesn’t participate in activities like concert band, marching band, or color guard so I think I broke some of those stereotypes which is really cool and kind of exciting,” said senior and Homecoming queen Julie Burkhardt. “I was super surprised because the other senior girls on court are really pretty and popular, and I’m a band geek and baton twirler at heart.”

When the dance finally arrived Saturday night, the students packed into the hot gym. The DJs performed with energy, singing along with popular songs that blasted from the speakers. Students were decked out in their fanciest Vegas wardrobes, showing off their classiest clothes. The three hours of the event flew by as students danced the night away. While the music was great and the dancing was fun, the dance offered another new perk to students: no fire alarms!

“I liked the DJ better than last year’s.” said White. “The dance itself was really fun.”