By SARVANI KURUGANTI, senior

TWINKLING LIGHTS, glitter, and a backdrop of a starry night view from a patio transformed the school cafeteria into a festive and upbeat place for the Homecoming Dance, a celebration of the advent of the new school year. The Student Council, which. hosted the dance, strived to emulate the atmosphere of a typical party at the. house of Jay Gatsby,. the wealthy fictional character who gives his name to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby. This 1920s themed dance had the whole school buzzing; students were excited to experience and emulate fashion styles from the past and eagerly anticipated the crowning of the Duke and Duchess.

In order to create the perfect atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties, Student Council executive board members put in a tremendous amount of work to find and make the appropriate decorations. “I am so glad to see that all the work we put into this dance paid off! It was definitely a night to remember,” junior Gaurav Nath recalled with excitement. The decorations certainly created a sense of the past: black tablecloths were hung from the sides of the wall with interspersed twinkling lights The glitter-filled white and gold balloons surrounded the fountain backdrop along with cutouts of people partying. The gazebo was surrounded with glittering beads that hung from the top to create a fountain effect. Drapes were even hung from the sides of the walls for a more realistic imitation of Gatsby’s house.

By 7:00 p.m., the dance was in full swing. The girls were dressed as flappers with exquisite dresses and ornate headbands while the boys wore bow-ties and suspenders. The entire room was filled with kids from all grades, and to everyone’s surprise, some JP graduates even made appearances. For the first hour, students took pictures, met with friends, ate, and had a great time dancing to a variety of party songs that were mixed in with selections from the recent Great Gatsby film.

In the middle of the dance, the nominees for Homecoming Duke and Duchess all made an entrance to attend the crowning ceremony. Nominees for Duke included juniors Casey He, Lawrence Lin, Antonio Nigro, Srid Sriram, and Stephen Susan. Nominees for Duchess were Kobi Dent, Michelle Karpenos, Bianna Koutsenko, Haley Schneider, and Crystal Weller.

The nominees for Homecoming King – Jakub Chmiel, Jong Chan Lee, Jaashir Morris, Chris Ricigliano, Ryan Wall – also made an appearance. as well as the nominees for Homecoming Queen: Brett O’Grady, Iris Wong, Carin Yao, and Melaney Zranchev. The highly anticipated results were announced and met with a resounding cheer in the cafeteria: Stephen Susan and Kobi Dent were crowned as Duke and Duchess. ”I can’t believe that I won! I am so honored and thankful for my classmates who voted for me,” junior Kobi Dent exclaimed. Homecoming King and Queen, Jong Chan Lee and Melaney Zranchev were announced the following night at JP’s Homecoming football game during halftime.

Soon after the crowning ceremony, everyone returned to dancing, savoring every minute of the last few songs. As the party at Gatsby’s came to an end, the students slowly came out of the Roaring 1920’s and back into reality. Everyone left in great spirits, having all had a night to remember. Senior Juhi Kampani expresses after the night, “I’m sad it’s my last Homecoming, and I wish I could come back next year.”