On Oct. 6, Friends4Hope hosted Hope Homecoming, a light-hearted basketball game in Oxford’s gym and a delightful dance in the quad for Hope School students and parents. With the theme “Forever a Tiger” to mirror the school’s mascot, the carnival games, sparkling gold decorations, and cheerful attitude of attendees led to a special experience for many.

At the Homecoming basketball game that started at 5:30 p.m., the audience erupted in cheers as Hope students played Hope alumni in a friendly match, ending with the half-court shot — a yearly tradition — to build hype and start the event off strong. With colorful tiger-themed decorations and encouraging flags and posters created by Friends4Hope and Oxford ASB, the ambiance helped Hope students to step out of their comfort zone.

“We had the basketball players play alongside the students and encouraged them to shoot the ball with them,” senior Darwin Ho, member of Friends4Hope, said. “The best part was watching all the fans getting excited about a kid scoring and the general excitement on the court.”

Shadi Fayad and Grace Grant were crowned high school Homecoming King and Queen while Tabare Sobrera and Kimberly Blazer were announced Adult Transition court. As students unwound with refreshing snacks like pretzels, fruit, cookies, and lemonade, people moved to the quad to dance underneath dazzling disco ball projectors and warm fairy lights. With well-known pop songs like “Gangnam Style” and “Cupid Style” blasting in the air, both Patriots and Hope students rocked upbeat dance moves and big smiles.

“We wanted Hope students to have fun and make as many good memories as possible,” sophomore Jenevieve Urfano said. “We are surrounded by tigers which represent a family that will never break apart, once a tiger forever a tiger.”

Created by Oxford’s Statistics Honors class, Hope students played creative carnival games like ring toss, fishing up tigers out of a pond, and tiger bowling. Various prizes including stickers, sensory toys, and animal plushies acted as trinkets to remember the night.

“When creating our game, we tried to make it easy enough to win and challenging enough to be fun,” senior Nicholas Alva said. “Turnout was really good and we felt as if Hope students were excited with our game because a lot of them kept coming back.”

With smiles and laughter spread across the dance floor, this joyful event ended off the quarter with a pleasant memory, creating an unforgettable moment of connection between Hope and Oxford students.