It's Homecoming Week at G-AHS
By PAT FRIDGEN Echo Pilot

High school royalty The 2007 Greencastle-Antrim Homecoming Court includes, from left: freshmen Seth Sprague and Emily Copenhaver; sophomores Kevin Piper and Halleigh Benner; juniors Evan Dixon and Stephanie Root; and seniors Roxanne Dewalt, Jesse Lenharr, Nicole Gentile, Alexander Ramsey, Beth Berger, Jon Zook.

The Homecoming Court is presiding over activities at Greencastle-Antrim High School this week, with the big game Friday against East Pennsboro at 7:30 p.m.

Festivities begin at 6 p.m. with a parade. The King and Queen will be crowned at 7 p.m. at Kaley Field.

Saturday night students may attend the semi-formal Homecoming Dance at 7 p.m. at the high school.

The royal court

Homecoming Princes and Princesses were chosen by their peers.

Senior royalty are: Beth Berger, daughter of Rod and Kim Berger. She plays basketball and volleyball, is class secretary, on the National Honor Society executive committee, Peer Leaders and Antrim Brethren in Christ youth group. She enjoys going to movies and hanging out with her friends.

Roxanne Dewalt, daughter of Wade and Tammy Dewalt. She plays field hockey and softball, is class president, and a member of Peer Leaders, Big Brother Big Sister Program and Environmental Club. She plans to attend college to become a physical therapist.

Nicole Gentile, daughter of Ron and Sheryl Gentile. She is class treasurer, a member of Indoor Guard, Peer Leaders, Student Council and National Honor Society. She likes to hang out with her friends. She plans to study medicine in college.

Jesse Lenharr, son of Mark and Wanda Lenharr. He plays football, track and field and is in the Weight Lifting Club. He likes to spend time with his friends. He plans to attend college for criminal justice.

Alexander Ramsey, son of Rob and Aimee Ramsey. He is in Drama Club and Art Club. He likes to dirtbike and spend time with his friends. He plans to study business, computer science or engineering in college.

Jon Zook, son of Gary and Teresa Zook. He plays soccer and football. He participates in mixed martial arts and likes to hang out with his friends.

Junior royalty are: Stephanie Root, daughter of Jeffrey and Diane Root. She plays field hockey and softball. She likes to spend time with her friends and family. She plans to study interior design in college and have a family.

Evan Dixon, son of Carl Dixon and Barb Dixon. He plays baseball and is in Student Council and Peer Leaders. He plans to attend Auburn University.

Sophomore royalty are: Halleigh Benner, daughter of Larry and Annette Diana. She plays field hockey and likes to snowboard and hang with her friends. She plans to go to college.

Kevin Piper, son of Terry and Jenny Piper. He plays soccer, basketball, and track. He likes to snowboard and be with his friends. He plans to go to college.

Freshman royalty are: Emily Copenhaver, daughter of Kevin and Lisa Copenhaver. She is a cheerleader and plays softball. She enjoys spending time with her friends. She plans to go to college.

Seth Sprague, son of Michael Sprague and Ronda Fearer. He likes to play sports and hang out with his friends. He plans to attend college

Parade

This year the route stays to the south of the school complex.

Entries in the parade leave the high school on Ridge Avenue and turn right on Leitersburg Street. They continue left on South Washington Street, left on Oak Street, left on Allison Street, right on Leitersburg to return to the school.

Student organizations and athletic teams will be featured in the parade, as well as the marching bands.

Powder Puff is poof

The traditional Powder Puff game on Wednesday night of Homecoming Week was again axed. Historically, senior class and junior class girls squared off in a football game, with boys serving as cheerleaders. The fundraiser brought in from $1,000 to $3,000 split between the two classes and the Student Council.

The game has been around in one form or another since the 1980s, according to Acting Superintendent Greg Hoover. But the competition proved to be too much. The game was cancelled for a few years in the past, brought back, and was cancelled again in 2006 for safety reasons.

Since students were taking out their energies toward each other off school grounds, Hoover said it was time for some new traditions.

High School Principal Ed Rife agreed.

"The rivalry is not what we want to be about at Greencastle," he said. "We have challenged the students to come up with different activities that will show school spirit, instead of one class against another."

One such effort is the Spirit Stick. This year the Student Council is hosting various games and activities during lunch period. Classes are awarded points based on the number of participants. The most spirited grade will win the Spirit Stick during the Pep Rally Friday. The stick was created by cheerleaders who are members of Student Council.