HOMECOMING CELEBRATION

Spirit week and homecoming fun
Como students celebrated their school spirit during the last week of September with thematic dress up days, a pep fest to end the school day on Friday, and a full slate of homecoming activities on Saturday, Oct. 1.
The spirit week theme days included pajama/onesie day, culture day, pink out day, jersey day, and class colors day. The pep fest inside the gym was the first traditional event for the whole student body since the pandemic began in 2020.
Students represented their classes in activities such as tug-of-war and funny relay races, which both produced enthusiastic cheering. Those competitions were sprinkled in between introductions of all the fall athletic teams, and cheers led by the Como cheerleading squad.
On Saturday, the Como turf field was the site of a homecoming tripleheader. Girls soccer, football, and boys soccer played games in succession while a climbing wall, yard games, and the Cougar Snack Stand provided additional entertainment.
While there weren’t any wins on the scoreboard for the Cougars on homecoming, all the teams represented Como with outstanding effort and class.
For alumni and neighborhood supporters, it’s still special to host homecoming games on campus instead of at another school’s site. Up until the facility upgrade at Como before the 2018 season, there had never been a Cougar homecoming game at home.
The final event was the return of the homecoming dance, held inside Como’s gym on Saturday night. English teacher Kristin Mathieu organized the event with student leaders. Parent volunteers helped chaperone to make the first school dance since the pandemic a reality.

Miss Minnesota shares cultural journey
Rachel Evangelisto is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Nation who won the Miss Minnesota pageant in June. While Evangelisto is the 86th Miss Minnesota, she’s the first Native American to hold the crown.
Evangelisto came to speak with interested students in the Como Auditorium on Sept. 21. She shared her cultural journey as a Lakota woman and her professional experience as a Racial Justice Facilitator and Indian Child Welfare Act guardian.
Como junior Brea Wilson explained the impact of the visit.
“A common issue among many Native American youth is feeling as though you aren’t ‘native enough,’ not fitting into the stereotype society places us in and feeling lost or without a true cultural identity,” Wilson said.
“Rachel touched on this subject sharing how she felt, how she dealt with it, and how she overcame it, leaving me at the end of her time with us connected to my community and empowered.”

Student election judges
Twenty Como students have registered to serve as student election judges in the upcoming Nov. 8 midterm election. Students will receive training from veteran Ramsey County election judges in October. On Election Day, they will work at their local precincts alongside a team of experienced judges.