Celebrating a Del Campo High School tradition through Homecoming Halls

Homecoming spirit is taking over Del Campo High School as students transform their hallways into colorful, creative displays for the school’s annual Homecoming Halls competition.

Each year, every grade level is challenged to decorate their assigned hall around a unique theme to celebrate the school's first home football game. This year’s themes included popular Disney Pixar movies such as Inside Out for freshmen, The Incredibles for sophomores, Monsters, Inc. for juniors and Toy Story for seniors.

Bringing the halls to life takes teamwork, creativity and hours of work. Students spent Monday through Wednesday after school decorating, then returned Thursday morning for final staging before judging and community viewing. Students must follow specific guidelines, including creating their own decorations and ensuring the floors, walls and ceilings are covered. 

Associated Student Body (ASB) President and senior Colton described the planning and teamwork that went into bringing the senior class’s Toy Story-themed hall to life.

“A lot of planning and prep went into it, which I think made it easier to actually carry out the plan,” Colton said. “But it was just a lot of communication and teamwork and also a lot of delegating because if we overloaded ourselves, we would not have been able to produce as well.”

The competition gives students an opportunity to showcase their creativity while building camaraderie within their class. From brainstorming ideas to crafting decorations and putting the finishing touches on their displays, students work as a team to create a hallway that represents their class collaboration and captures the excitement surrounding homecoming.

“I would say the biggest thing for Homecoming Halls for me is just being able to work as a community, to accomplish one goal,” said Colton. “Everyone has their own rooms that they're in charge of, but in reality, we're all making one singular hall as a class.”

After the halls are complete, a panel of judges—including a San Juan Unified Board of Education member and district staff members—tours the school to take in each grade’s creation and select the winning display. Halls are judged based on creativity, organization, overall appearance, connection to the class theme and how well they promote football.

This year, the seniors took first place, followed by the juniors in second, sophomores in third and freshmen in fourth.

“I think [winning the competition] would really just show how bonded we are,” Colton said. “It would definitely raise everyone's individual spirits, but also our harmony as a whole.”

More than a competition, Homecoming Halls gives students an opportunity to work together, showcase their creativity and take part in a longstanding Del Campo tradition.