photo by Jason Schoonover

Senior Damian Montes eats lunch in his superhero costume Tuesday at Albert Lea High School. His outfit featured a child’s Superman costume and a Zorro mask.

Superheroes save day

Students dress up for Homecoming Week

By Jason Schoonover | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Albert Lea High School looked prepared to deal with any supervillain’s plot to take over the school Tuesday.

Tuesday was Superhero Day at one of the annual dress-up days during Homecoming Week at Albert Lea High School. Many students chose to dress as superheroes like Batman and Superman.

“There’s a lot of crazy people. If you look around, there’s a bunch of people in spandex and capes and everything like that. It’s kind of funny,” said sophomore Katie Lucas.

Lucas said it was fun to see many of the students have fun and not take themselves too seriously.

Not all the heroes were your traditional comic book and movie caped crusaders. Members of the varsity volleyball team wore their jerseys with capes, headbands and other attire.

“We wanted to wear our jerseys and a cape, everything like that. So I guess we’re volleyball superheroes,” Lucas said.

Some girls on the team also plan to dress up Wednesday in their jerseys for a dress-up day based around what students want to be when they grow up. She said the team hasn’t planned out each of their outfits for the coming days, but she promised they’d be good.

Senior Damian Montes wore a Superman costume, but it wasn’t any Superman costume. He wore a Superman costume designed for an 8-year-old that was tight and stretched from his calves to stomach. He then wore a white T-shirt, a cape and a Zorro mask.

He chose the Zorro mask because he wanted a part of the costume for his face. The 8-year-old’s costume was selected for its comedic value: “I thought it’d be way funnier and super tight,” he said.

Tim Stoneking made his own costume featuring a black shirt, black pants and a black hat with a red cape, a red tie and a red band on the hat. He didn’t name his costume, but friends told him he looked like the McDonald’s Hamburglar.

For When I Grow Up I Want To Be … Day on Wednesday, Stoneking said he and a friend planned to dress up as the Blues Brothers.

Mason Tuohy said he liked seeing the students’ creative side in making their outfits during Homecoming Week. He made his own costume with a white T-shirt and a red cape with an M for Mason written in duct tape on his cape. He planned to dress up as a newscaster for When I Grow Up I Want To Be … Day.

Sophomore Tommy Melendez dressed in his own homemade Superman costume with “bulletproof” underwear with a money print above his pants and a plain white T-shirt with Superman written in red pen. He then had a burgundy towel for a cape and black goggles for “heat vision.”

Matt Dorman dressed up as Captain America, and his costume featured a shield made of a sled he spray-painted blue.

Students likely had an easier time making their costumes on Monday, which was Pajama Day.

Even teachers and staff got in on the fun at the high school, as Secretary to the Principal Sandra Jimenez dressed as a “secretary to the rescue” with a cape and other attire.

Teachers could e-mail Jimenez the names of students with clever or unique costumes. Those names were entered into a drawing for a $20 prize at the end of each school day.

Homecoming tradition toilet-papering the school may not be as prevalent this year. While it’s a tradition to TP the school the day before the Homecoming game, Student Council president Whitney Walker said the school is limiting those activities to the trees in the triangle between the student parking lot and the school building.

Some of the other Homecoming festivities include a senior boat float during seventh hour Wednesday and a senior dinner and dance at 6:30 p.m. at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club.

Thursday is Neon Day, and there will also be a pepfest that will include a performance by the dance team and an introduction of sports teams.

Friday is Cherry and Blue Day and is also Field Day, where students can participate in activities at Hammer Field such as a game of ultimate Frisbee, a powder puff football game, and a dunk tank, which is also serving as a United Way fundraiser.

The football team plays Faribault at Hammer Field in the Homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday. A school dance will follow in the ALHS gym.

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