ESCONDIDO — On October 18,  580 students attended Classical Academy High School’s sixth annual homecoming dance.

Since this year’s homecoming theme was “Midnight in Manhattan,” the room was decorated to look and feel like New York City. Decorations included miniature versions of the Broadway Theatre, Central Park, and the Bronx. “I think this is the best [that] homecoming has ever looked. It [was] really nice and classy,” senior Grace Agyan said.

Inside the new Caiman Hall, vibrant lights of different colors flashed in every direction, popular music blasted through the DJ’s speakers, and hundreds of teenagers danced for hours. “At homecoming, everyone is just crazy,”  junior Samara Shhadeh said.

In years past, the homecoming dance took place in the Boys and Girls Club gym across the street from the former campus. For the first time, the dance took place on CAHS’s campus. “It gives us a better sense of ownership,” English teacher, Ms. Chalese Dunton said.

Events like homecoming offer students and staff a fun and memorable experience that can strengthen the student body as a whole. “I think a homecoming dance brings everyone together because you see kids from all different groups and grades dancing together and having fun,” Dunton said.

Senior Jonathan Norwood said, “It breaks the students out of the everyday monotony of going into school and gives them something to look forward to as a fine night that they will remember for years and years to come.”