The community-wide events that took place on campus on Friday, Oct. 4, usually go by many names — Homecoming, Fall Community Event, Fall Fan Day and CBS17 Game of the Week — and don’t typically take place at the same time; but following the extraordinary circumstances of the past few weeks, Ravenscroft parent volunteers, faculty and staff, and students came together to put them all on for one afternoon and evening of fun and school spirit. 

Enjoying an afternoon on Kelly Commons

The Homecoming and Fall Community Event was originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 27. But heavy rain and concerns about potential wind gusts, storm damage and power outages associated with Hurricane Helene prompted the postponement of both the Homecoming football game and the community-wide event.

An all-alumni social planned for the Homecoming game was canceled, but reunions for the Class of 1974 and the Class of 2019 were able to proceed as planned.

Event organizers and school leadership, who had been working on contingency plans all week, quickly landed on a new date of Friday, Oct. 4. Activities including inflatables, lawn games and a gaming truck were confirmed for the new date, as were food trucks, Ravenscroft concessions and Gonza’s Taco dinner. 

As Christian Johns, co-chair elect of the Fall Celebration Committee, noted, parent volunteers had been working on this event for months, holding weekly meetings since the start of the school year, and they were determined to put on a successful event despite the date change.

“The committee co-chairs, Monica Patel and Marcia Hemphill, and PA co-president Josefina Hanna went into overdrive to coordinate with all of our vendors, Facilities staff and school community in general to ensure we still had all of the planned activities and amenities,” he said. “The turn-out was amazing, and seeing the students and parents come together to celebrate Homecoming and our wonderful school community reminded me of why we chose Ravenscroft in the first place.”

A student-led supply drive for residents in Western North Carolina affected by storm-related flooding kicked off Oct. 4 as well, with boxes for donations placed in Gonet Gateway for easy access.

“This Fall Community Event was particularly meaningful as it fell during a time where North Carolina residents could use some time to congregate, enjoy nice weather and support one another,” Lower School parent Lauren McIlwaine said. “Our family specifically enjoyed chatting with friends, playing lawn games, having slushies, and creating the tunnel for our football team. Calum ’37 is always so proud of giving Edgar a high-five!”

PA co-president Josefina Hanna thanked the parent groups, volunteers and staff who helped make such a special afternoon possible.

“We are fortunate to have a wonderful array of parent groups collaborating towards a common aim. The success of this event would not have been possible without their flexibility and adaptability to the necessary changes we had to make due to weather conditions,” she said. “We are immensely thankful to our Facilities staff, whose kindness and significant support were essential to the event. A huge shoutout goes to [Director of Parent Engagement] Sarah Baker, who supported us and the FCE Committee at every turn, helping us make this event truly magical despite the obstacles we faced.”

Celebrating school spirit in Gonet Gateway and on Stefanou Field

Oct. 4 was already going to be an exciting one for sports lovers in all three divisions. CBS17 sent a camera crew to highlight the varsity football team’s 7 p.m. “Game of the Week” against Trinity Christian in Fayetteville, with biscuits and give-aways from Bojangles. The game was also host to Lower School Fall Fan Day and rescheduled Middle School Fall Fan Day, drawing even more Ravens and their families to Gonet Gateway starting at 5 p.m. 

Activities included poster making, hair and face paint, spirit swag, cheerleaders and the chance to be on CBS17’s live broadcast featuring pre-game comments from head football coach Jim Gibbons. Just before the kickoff, attendees got to be part of the student tunnel that welcomed the varsity football players to the field. With Oct. 4 designated a “Green and Gold” spirit day, Ravens of all ages brought their school spirit to the event.

“We had a huge turnout of both Lower and Middle School students and families to celebrate Homecoming and Fan Night,” RAC president Randi Gilbert said. “It was so great to see the students showing their school spirit by making posters and forming the tunnel for our football team to run through. I am looking forward to many more fan days and events this year.”

“Ravenscroft is more than a school, it’s a community. They went above and beyond for this year’s fall festival,” Ashton Yelverton ’29 said. “From the inflatable houses to all of the other food and entertainment leading up to the varsity football game, Ravenscroft made sure there was something for everyone.”

Another Homecoming mainstay was brought to the Oct. 4 game with the recognition of the Upper School’s Homecoming Court during halftime. The court had been announced during the Fall Pep Rally, which was moved up to Sept. 26 from Sept. 27, and included these students:

• Ninth-graders Cameron Wolborsky ’28 and Alvin Wu ’28

• 10th-graders Lindsay Davenport ’27 and Rainy Ye ’27

• 11th-graders Daniel Dan ’26, Jack Holt ’26, Delaney Jeff ’26 and Audrey Kalorin ’26

• 12th-graders Shea Baker ’25, Gaddyn Cole ’25, Jai Gupta ’25, Beatrice Laskowski ’25, Jonas Lisson ’25, Olivia Rivera ’25, Michai Sanders ’25 and Henry Zhang ’25

Congratulations to Homecoming Court Senior Honorees Shea and Olivia, who were announced during the Oct. 4 game. Each received a bouquet and a sash of honor during the recognition.

Upper Schoolers were still able to enjoy the traditional Homecoming Dance as planned on Saturday, Sept. 28. SGA faculty sponsor Mark Laskowski said the dance “had a record turnout, got rave reviews for the Halloween-themed decorations and earned enough money to make a $1,000 donation to a charitable cause” focused on hurricane-related relief efforts.

SGA president Jai Gupta ’25 said pulling off the dance under the circumstances was a team effort. 

“Due to the hurricane, there was some uncertainty about the dance being held, and SGA members and volunteers — including Beatrice Laskowski ’25, Darian Schoonmaker ’25, Jonas Lisson ’25, JW Fusarelli ’25 and Mr. Laskowski — stepped up throughout Thursday, Friday and Saturday to set up some incredible decorations,” he said. “The maintenance team came in on Saturday morning to finalize the venue and even taught us how to turn off the lights throughout the Olander Center and back gym to create an optimal dance environment. All together, it took a full-scale group effort to deliver an enjoyable student experience at the Homecoming Dance.”

Leading From Here to assist hurricane relief efforts

The supply drive, which continues through Friday, Oct. 11, focuses on items of significant need, including Benadryl, baby formula, diapers (all sizes), flushable wipes, feminine hygiene products, dog and cat food, AAA batteries and non-perishable foods such soups, stews, canned meats and peanut butter.