Homecoming Is About More Than Coming Home

It’s Homecoming Week at McKenzie! Our students will spend the week celebrating the traditions that make it special, from spirit days and class competitions to plenty of green and gold, all leading up to Friday night’s football game.

Homecoming is certainly about school spirit. It is also a chance to welcome alumni back and celebrate the generations of students who have called McKenzie home.

But Homecoming also gives us an opportunity to think about something even bigger: the relationship between our school and our community. McKenzie is more than a school. It is part of the fabric of this community, and for generations, our students, families, staff and neighbors have shaped one another.

Our school belongs to this community, and the responsibility for supporting the next generation doesn’t end when your own children graduate or require having children in our schools at all.

At McKenzie, part of our work is guiding the next generation of our community as they learn about themselves, their communities and the world. We can’t do that alone.

Our students benefit when they grow up knowing the adults throughout the McKenzie Valley are invested in their success. They notice the community members sitting in the stands at a volleyball match or football game. They notice people volunteering at school events, attending a concert, supporting a fundraiser, sharing their expertise, or simply asking them how school is going.

Those interactions send an important message: You matter to this community.

For some of you, McKenzie has been part of your family for generations. You may have graduated from these same schools, watched your children cross our graduation stage, or now have grandchildren in our classrooms. For others, your connection to McKenzie may be newer. And some members of our community may never have had a child attend our schools.

We need all of you.

A strong rural school and a strong rural community are deeply connected. The young people sitting in our classrooms today will become tomorrow’s employees, business owners, volunteers, parents, coaches, firefighters, community leaders and neighbors. We all have a role in helping them understand both the opportunities and responsibilities that come with being part of a community.

That’s why I’d like to issue a simple challenge for Homecoming this year.

This Friday, let’s turn the McKenzie Valley green and gold.

Wear a McKenzie shirt to work. Put on a green sweatshirt when you head to the store. Hang something green and gold at your business or home. You don’t have to attend Friday night’s game to participate, although we’d certainly love to see you there.

Imagine our students traveling through the valley Friday and seeing evidence everywhere that the community is behind them. That’s a pretty powerful Homecoming message.

Friday’s festivities will culminate with our Eagles hosting the Powers Cruisers at 7:00 p.m. Our Homecoming Queen and King will be crowned at halftime, and we especially invite all McKenzie alumni to come back, reconnect, and cheer on today’s Eagles.

Around McKenzie This Week

Homecoming Spirit Week will feature traditional dress-up days and class competitions throughout the week. Monday, middle and high school progress reports are due to the office, and middle school volleyball travels to Crow for a 4:30 p.m. match. Tuesday, high school volleyball heads to Crow for a 6:00 p.m. match.

On Wednesday, our middle school volleyball and football teams travel to Siletz, with volleyball beginning at 5:00 p.m. and football kicking off at 5:30 p.m.

On Thursday, high school volleyball hosts a double dual with Mohawk and Eugene Christian. McKenzie faces Mohawk at 4:00 p.m. and Eugene Christian at 7:00 p.m., with Mohawk and Eugene Christian facing each other between those matches.

Friday is also a Teacher Day, with staff reporting to campus while students are out of class for meetings and professional development, before we turn our attention to Homecoming festivities that evening.

Homecoming asks us to remember where we’ve been. Education asks us to think about where we’re going.

This Friday, I hope our students see a valley full of people who care about both.

Wear your green and gold, McKenzie. Let’s show the next generation that their community is behind them.