It may have been only three days, but Spirit Week was jam-packed with dress up days and Homecoming festivities that included  a pep rally,  a parade, a win against Morrow, and a glitzy dance.

Students filed into Panther Stadium during 7th period on Thursday, Oct. 16, for a pep rally to get them pumped up for the football game  at 7 p.m. that night.  It marked the first time in Mill history that the Homecoming football game was played on a Thursday night  instead of a Friday.

Students who participated in the annual parade before the game had to hurry to get ready. They had to be at Braelinn Elementary by 4:30 p.m. to get organized and ready to roll out by 5 p.m.  Members of the Homecoming court enjoyed riding down Robinson and Redwine roads on their way to the high school in convertibles or in the beds of pick-up trucks.

Each class’ Executive Board and several clubs had floats, which were either decorated golf carts, trailers or cars.  The Class of 2018 won “best float” and the French Club’s float, complete with a guillotine, won for most creative golf cart.

Later that night under the lights at Panther Stadium, the Panthers finished the day’s Homecoming fun with a 55-8 win over Morrow. But most people’s eyes were focused on the halftime events as the members of the court made their way onto the field.  Within 20 minutes, the 2014 Homecoming Court stood waving to the crowd and enjoying their new royal status.

Winners were seniors Storey Mizzell and Emma Wernecke as the king and queen.  The junior prince and princess were Dhruva Jandhyala and Samantha Herr.  The sophomore Duke and Duchess were Craig Riley and Jocelyn Gao. Rounding out the court were freshmen Lord and Lady Jonathan Baxter and Sabrina Greco.

The Sophomore Executive Board officers and parent volunteers worked tirelessly down to the last hour putting together the Homecoming dance that began at 7 p.m. on Saturday.  They transformed the gym into a Great Gatsby ballroom and hired a DJ to get the crowd of around 300 students dancing. The ballroom was decorated in gold, black and silver with dark sashes draping from the ceiling and a red carpet leading down to the dance floor.

Even Assistant Principals Sandy Martin and Charlotte Robinson couldn’t resist the temptation to get out on the dance floor once the “Cupid Shuffle” started blaring through the speakers.

See the week in photos.