In September, North Atlanta students were excited about everything homecoming related: the game, the dance and, of course, the all-important selections for this year’s Homecoming Court. Last month, court candidates were campaigning among their peers in order to gain the edge. A popularity contest? Perhaps. But also a fun opportunity to get one’s name out there — and all over the school.   

The girls who ran for Miss 9th Grade went all out. Walking along the fourth-floor hallway, the walls were covered in posters. The eventual winner was Rapture Vaugh who ran a spirited race among fellow candidates Avery Horton and Asia Thomas. There were no male candidates for Mr. 9th grade so winners for the freshmen only came in one gender.  

For Miss. 10th Grade, a group of friends ran and despite the competition they promised to continue to be friends no matter the voting outcome. The winner, Rylie Dixon, believes that running for Miss 10th grade made her make a lot of new friends “I was so happy and shocked,” she said. “I just wished all of the girls could’ve won with me.”  

The winner for Mr. 10th Grade was Camari Gilbert, a player on Warrior junior varsity basketball team. His strategy for campaigning was to use social media as his main vote-getting platform, a tactic that worked in his favor. “I decided that using social media might be more beneficial for me because everyone is constantly scrolling through their feeds and watching stories on Snapchat,” he said.  

The winners for Mr. and Miss 11th Grade were Tyree Hyde and Imani Miles. Hyde and his close group of friends have individually run every year, starting in 9th grade. “This was the best way for us all to enjoy winning,” he said.

The naming of senior class winners was the highlight of the evening. They were:  Miss 12th Grade Chole Senter, Mr. 12th Grade Jaden Yankey, Mr. Black and Silver Justin Sanders and Miss Black and Silver Kennedy Robbins. The Mr. and Miss Black and Silver awards go to noteworthy varsity athletes and this year’s winners were especially well regarded. Sanders is the football team’s most prolific offensive player and Robbins is a varsity basketball cheerleader. School favorites, the pair both respectively ran away with their homecoming wins.  

Homecoming King and Queen are always the evening’s biggest winners. And at North, the winners for Mr. and Miss North Atlanta this year were seniors Messiah Thompson and Chloe Duster.

Duster got creative when she was convincing students to vote for her. She walked around the cafeteria with a Polaroid camera and props and when she took pictures of students would write “#VoteChlo” on it and give it to them.

This year’s homecoming was important in school history because it is the first homecoming game victory in a decade. And a fun and happy night was capped off with plenty of halftime star power with the naming of the homecoming court. Here’s to you 2018 Homecoming Court: May your stars always shine bright!