Prefect Council announced “Fly Me to the Moon” as the theme for the Homecoming formal in an email Sept. 14. The formal event will take place Oct. 8 at the upper school campus from 7 p.m to 11 p.m.

Senior Prefect Rowan Jen ’23 said the theme has been in the works since early August, and the committee undergoes a specific process to prepare for the event. 

“Everyone [on the Homecoming committee]  pitches in what ideas worked or didn’t work in the past, we go through a process where we propose names and then [we see] what sticks and what doesn’t,” Jen said. “After that, most of Homecoming involves back and forth discussions with [party planners] in terms of the logistics of actually putting the event on.” 

Shiara Navarro ’25 said the theme is interesting and will make the dance entertaining.     “I don’t know if [Prefect Council] got inspiration from the rumors of the Met Gala being space themed, but I feel like it’s a cool theme because you can do a lot with it,” Navarro said. “I’m excited because we’re on a different campus now, so [sophomores] get to experience how the Upper School  does it.”

Asha Haley ’23 said the theme leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which can give the Homecoming committee and attendees greater creative freedom. 

“There’s lots of potential for cool decorations,” Haley said. “I got my dress before the theme was announced, so it’s not really galaxy-related, [but I’m] excited to see what [other] people will come up with.”

Lok Gertschen-Klaseus ’25 said he thinks the theme will not result in as much flexibility for the students because the theme limits what outfits they have to choose from.

“[Homecoming will] be fun, but hard to dress for because there’s not a lot of colors or styles that really fit the theme,” Gertschen-Klaseus said. “The galaxy color scheme is very specific, so I feel like [the students] won’t be able to show as much creativity within their outfits.”

Jen said  the galaxy theme will influence many other elements of the event.  He said the lighting, prop placement and general layout of the Homecoming dance have all been planned by the  committee with the intention of curating an engaging and thematic experience.

In the weeks leading up to Homecoming, Jen said students will begin to receive more details about the dance.

“I’d be on the lookout for more information as time goes on,” Jen said. “The main thing is to make sure that everyone [knows] that ticket sales start soon.”