On Oct. 9, Morris Hills held its annual Homecoming Game, with the Morris Hills football team starting the day off with an impressive shutout victory over Chatham 24-0.  This year’s homecoming court consisted of seniors Olivia Ciampi, Tamiya Turner, Nicole Narciso, Madeline Kirkpatrick, Mackenzie Creighton, Sara Wicker, Madison Vaglio and Chelsea McCarthy. At halftime, Nicole Narciso and Madeline Kirkpatrick were crowned Homecoming Princess and Queen respectively to thundering applause. 

Following months of uncertainty due to the pandemic, Morris Hills’s 2021 Homecoming, themed “Under the Stars,” was truly a “homecoming” with many students returning to or entering the halls of MHHS for the first time. It was a greatly anticipated event with the Student Government Association selling approximately 450 tickets prior to the event and an additional hundred at the door. 

Keeping this excitement in mind, it’s difficult to believe that 2021’s homecoming dance almost ceased to exist due to COVID restrictions. SGA adviser Mrs. Radzieski commented that the dance either had to be cancelled or held outdoors, a decision that differed from the usual gym setting. In the end, Dr. Toriello insisted that the students of Morris Hills have as much of a normal year as possible, and ultimately decided to hold the dance outside. It turned out to be a favorable decision; the dance floor was packed with students jamming to various songs such as “Corvette Corvette” and pop hits such as “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Everyone was eager to make up for the lost months. 

Additionally, the homecoming court and their escorts as well as the princess and queen were announced for a second time at the dance amidst a setting of ecstasy. 

Later, when asked her reaction regarding being crowned homecoming queen, Madeline Kirkpatrick replied that it was “the thing I least expected to hear…this school has fostered such an amazing environment. I was honored to be crowned queen and am extremely happy, excited, and grateful.” Madeline recalls that she had been a “quiet & shy kid,” and the mere thought that years later, she would be voted into the homecoming court by her classmates and later crowned queen was described in one word: “crazy.”

Most important of all, the majority of the student body coming together as one to relish and celebrate the court, each other, and being physically at school to experience this revelation was another highlight of a new beginning. When the DJ played the last song of the night, the Morris Hills Homecoming ultimately lived up to its name.