Ah, Homecoming, the most wonderful event in the month of October at BIM. Every year at BASIS Independent McLean since 2019, excluding last year, we have had a Homecoming dance. The Homecoming dance is an event where the students of BIM get to hang out together, dance to some great tunes, and have their homecoming royalty announced. However, this year’s Homecoming dance was a little bit different because I, Ash V., was reporting on the event.

The theme for this year’s homecoming dance was ‘In The Clouds’, and the Primary Atrium was decorated as if you were on a first-class flight through the skies. Laila A. said “I like the theme. I like the decorations. It’s very festive.”  

As the night progressed, people started to relax and enjoy themselves. After asking him how the night had been going, Rodrigo G. said “I’m enjoying table tennis and the music from the stereo.” I then asked Saaketh V. how he thought Homecoming was going. He replied, “I think it’s going pretty well. I have been playing the video game Super Mario Bros, and I have beaten my friend, TJ, multiple times despite it being my first time playing. TJ then replied, “That’s not true! He’s lying. He won a couple of rounds, but I won the game.” I will leave the question of who was actually winning up in the air for you to decide. 

Ms. Maffei, an English teacher at BIM, was one of the teachers chaperoning the dance. I asked her how she thought homecoming was going for the students from the perspective of a teacher. She replied, “I think everyone is having a great time. People are dancing. It’s nice to see them much more relaxed than at school where they’re all stressed.” Personally, while I mainly avoided the dance floor, I could definitely observe many people enjoying themselves there.

The most exciting point in the evening was the announcement of the Homecoming court.  There was a king and queen for each of the high school grades and I got an interview with both of the sophomores, Shaun J. and Zane X. After following Shaun, I was able to ask him how he felt about being elected homecoming king, to which he replied “It was a group effort, without the support of our friends, this would have never happened.” Sophomore homecoming queen, Zane X. told me, “It is an honor to be Shaun’s queen.” 

At the end of the night, as people started to dissipate from the atrium, I spotted Mr. Shorbe, our new Head of School, Mr. Shorbe. When asked about how he felt being at his first BIM homecoming, he responded, “This was awesome! It was cool to see people dancing, playing ping-pong, and just generally having a good time.” I, Ash V., can now say that from my experience, BIM’s homecoming was a success.