An unusual homecoming, awards for JROTC and Peterson

Robert Wasiluk

Spirit week festivities
The first month of the 2024-2025 academic year at Como concluded with Spirit Week and Homecoming activities. September is a busy time of transition back into the daily routines and expectations of the academic environment. With a strong start to a promising year, staff and students enjoyed thematic dress-up days from Sept. 23-27 before concluding Friday with a Pep Fest in the gym.
The Homecoming Dance was held in Como’s gym on Friday night. Saturday, Sept. 28 was a glorious day of sunshine for the Homecoming Parade which proceeded north on Grotto St. from school, turned left on Wheelock Parkway to Como Lake, and back onto the school grounds.
In an unusual situation, there was no homecoming football game. Minneapolis Edison was the scheduled opponent, but before their first game of the season, Edison announced they were cancelling their season due to not having enough players. Also complicating matters was a break in the boys and girls’ soccer schedules.
That left Como’s athletic department in search of a new opponent for Homecoming Saturday. None could be found which was a disappointment for the Cougar community.
However, adaptability and positivity won the day as food trucks and lawn games surrounded the Como turf field for two memorable flag football games. The junior girls played the senior girls in a spirited contest, followed by a friendly game of the students versus the staff.
Additional activities included the Como Booster Club hosting building tours for returning alumni who were able to see the transformational change to the physical space they remembered from their high school days. Inside and outside of Como Park High School, smiles and laughs were abundant for 2024’s homecoming.

Marine Corps JROTC honors
For the seventh consecutive year, Como’s Marine Corps JROTC program has been recognized as a National Naval Honor School. This award is reserved for the top twenty percent of high school JROTC programs in the country.
Criteria in the annual evaluations include enrollment numbers, community service hours, academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, drill and color guard competitions, leadership camps, field trips and more.

Health Teacher of the Year
Lynn Peterson has been named the 2024 Health Teacher of the Year by the Minnesota Society of Health and Physical Educators (MNSHAPE). Peterson has been teaching at Como since 2020, instructing classes in health education, stress management, and medical career exploration.

AVID Spirit Week Event
Como students in the AVID program (Advancement via Individual Determination) gathered in the school auditorium on Thursday, Sept. 26 to hear motivational messages from a couple of young Como alumni leaders.
Aisha Mohamed and Destyn Land both graduated from Como in 2015. Mohamed is now the coordinator of the school’s Career Pathway Center. Land is the Senior Health Equity Educator at Hennepin County Medical Center and author of “The Rules We Live By: Stories and Reflections on Unlearning Patriarchal Masculinity.”