Over the past few weeks, ASB (Associated Student Body) Advisor Mrs. Belong and her group of outstanding ASB appointees have been working non-stop to put together the largest event of the school year. This year, Coronado High’s homecoming festivities took place during the entire week of October 30 to November 4, with many organized activities promoting school spirit, and culminating with Saturday night’s dance. ASB was divided into four different groups to plan all of the events: the Friday pep rally, the Friday afternoon parade, Saturday’s dance, and publicity of all three. Those in charge of the dance pick the venue and decorations, which is how the theme gets selected. This year the homecoming dance took place at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, where they currently have a gaming exhibition, Game Masters. This exhibit inspired the theme “Arcade Through the Decades.”
Over a month prior, homecoming court nominations had begun its long process. A long list of nominees was compiled with the requirement that each was voted by their peers at least twice. After the nominees were determined, further voting occurred, narrowing down to the homecoming court of the top six boys and six girls. The following boys and girls were selected for homecoming court: Sean Campos, Micah Grim, Myles Manning, Sam Roughneen, Blanchard Seniff, Arjavon Talebzadeh, Abby Boyle, Margot Chesnut, Delaney Davenport, Katie Larratt, Chapin Miller-Maes, and Johanna Warner. See below for interviews of all the homecoming royalty.
One of the key components of the parade planning is the float building. Each class’ ASB officers (President, Vice President, and Treasurer) organized their grade level students to plan and construct their class float. The actual building and decoration of each float took place at the home of one of the class students, whose parents kindly lent their yards for this grand production that started two weeks before the parade.
Officially, the homecoming festivities began on Monday with spirit week and Spirit Dress Days. Monday was “Islander Sports Day,” Halloween costumes were allowed on Tuesday, Wednesday was “Islander Arts/CoSA Day,” Thursday’s spirit day celebrated patriotism, America and the NJROTC, and Friday was Class Spirit Day where students were encouraged to wear their class shirts.
Friday’s pep rally, as always, began with the National Anthem, which was sung by chemistry teacher Mrs. Grace Cho Kim. Following this fantastic performance were the dances prepared by the homecoming court couples.
HOMECOMING PARADE
At 3pm the classes organized on Adella Avenue with their floats for the parade. Before the parade started, judges on the CHS faculty were able to score the floats based on a set of criteria planned and written by ASB officers and Mrs. Belong. During the parade, all four classes and their floats, as well as NJROTC and the football team walked along Orange Avenue, interspersed with the homecoming court couples riding in cars. Click through to see some parade photos:
Next up was the homecoming football game at 6:30pm where Coronado faced the undefeated San Diego High School Cavers at Niedermeyer Field.
At halftime, the homecoming floats were again paraded, this time around the field for their final showing. The floats were judged based on criteria involving design, creativity, and spirit. Here’s another view of the floats:
The juniors, Class of 2019, won the float contest, followed by the seniors, Class of 2018. The sophomores and freshmen fell short at third and fourth place.
HOMECOMING COURT
After the float results were announced, the homecoming court was escorted onto the field by their family and friends. The following biographies were read during this ceremony:
Abby Boyle: 
“Abby has lived in Coronado since she was two years old, and knows what an honor it is to be here. She wants to take the opportunity to thank the Coronado community tonight for supporting her in the fight to find her diagnosis of Autonomic Nerve Dysfunction. With the severe pain she lives with every day; the ocean, surfing, photography, skating, people, family, water polo, and hugging helps her overcome this. She always says ‘everybody has something,’ and she wants to thank all of you for being a part of her something. Abby is being escorted by her father Dan and her mother Lori.”
Margot Chesnut:
“Margot is so incredibly excited to be on the homecoming court and wants to thank everyone who nominated and voted for her. During the week, she enjoys pouring all her energy into her five AP classes and being on the student leadership team at Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church. Coronado is Margot’s favorite city she has ever lived in, and wants to acknowledge all of the teachers and peers that have made it such a welcoming place. Margot is being escorted by her mother and father, Clementine and Jay Chesnut.”
Delaney Davenport:
“Delaney feels so fortunate to have been born and raised and to have gone through the Coronado school system with so many of her childhood friends. She has been inspired and influenced by several teachers throughout the years. She loves being part of such an incredible community that she has truly connected with. Her joys are spending time with friends, family, and volunteering at the MS Society, Sacred Heart Youth Group and Coronado Young Life, a Christian outreach organization where she has been mentored by young leaders and is now giving back by being a leader herself. She has been especially busy this year in her role as senior class president as well as president of Young Life. Delaney’s goal is to attend a California college with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. She is being escorted on the field by her father, Buddy Davenport.”
Katie Larratt:
“Katie Larratt was born in Meridian, Mississippi, but as the daughter of a retired Naval officer, she has moved eight times and has attended six different schools. Despite this, she is proud to call Coronado her home. Katie runs on the CHS cross country team and was a Captain of the CHS varsity lacrosse team. She is also the president of Health Occupation Students of America and a volunteer coordinator for National Honor Society. She loves to play the piano, travel, and spend time with her friends and family. Katie has a passion for working with kids and aspires to have a career in pediatric medicine. Katie is being escorted on the field by her parents, Alex and Russ Larratt.”
Chapin Miller-Maes:
“Chapin is the older sister of two younger brothers, River and Liam. She enjoys playing varsity lacrosse and surfing on the high school’s surf team. Her favorite hobbies are hanging out at the beach with her friends and walking her dog, Lulu. Chapin plans on joining the Peace Corps and would one day like to live in Hawaii. Chapin is being escorted by her stepfather, Tom Knapp.”
Johanna Warner
“Johanna has lived in Coronado her whole life and feels very fortunate to live in such an amazing place. She puts an emphasis on giving back to her community to the best of her ability. She is very active in community service and one way she gives back is through ASB. This year is Johanna’s third year in ASB, last year serving as commissioner of publicity and this year as senior class vice president. She values her time with her family and friends and is one of the captains on the Coronado Cheerleading Team. She is honored to be a part of the 2017 homecoming court and wants to thank everyone who has supported her along the way. Johanna is being escorted by her father Mark Warner.”
Sean Campos:
“Sean Campos lived in Mexico for six years before moving to Coronado during middle school. He wants to start his own business after high school so that nobody can boss him around. He likes to read, sleep, and eat. Sean is the ex-vice president of the CHS Ping Pong Club. Sean will be escorted on the field by his brother, Cristian.”
Micah Grim:
“Micah Grim first moved to Coronado in the eighth grade. He has a younger sibling, Evan, who is a sophomore at CHS. Micah has been a member of the varsity lacrosse team all four years of high school. He has also been involved with the ASB since his junior year. Last year, as a junior, he was the commissioner of finance and is the current ASB president. In his free time, Micah travels for club lacrosse, tutors middle school and high school students, plans and participates in ASB events, works part-time as a Gondolier in the Coronado Cays, and volunteers as a member of National Honor Society. After high school, he plans to attend a four-year university in California with hopes to pursue either business management or computer science and engineering. Micah is being escorted on the field by his mother, Lani Grim.”
Myles Manning:
“Myles Manning is a Coronado native who has been in the Coronado School District his entire life. He has been playing on Coronado’s varsity basketball team since he was a freshman and has been captain since his sophomore year. Broadening his horizons, Myles joined CoSA Musical Theatre for his senior year and recently was a part of the Fall Musical. Myles is hoping to stay in California for college, with his dream school being Stanford. He would like to thank his family for loving and supporting him, no matter what. Myles is being escorted by his mother Nancy Manning and his grandmother Jill Jaehne.”
Sam Roughneen:
“Sam Roughneen was born in Rhode Island and moved to Coronado in seventh grade with his parents, three sisters, and dog named Shamrock. He has been on the varsity sailing team for all four years at CHS. Sam is also a member of the junior board at Coronado Yacht Club and teaches children to sail through their junior program. He enjoys spending time on the water, especially kite-surfing and wake-boarding. He has been involved in ASB, serving as class vice president in his sophomore year. Sam is a Core Team leader at Sacred Heart Church and is president of Layers of Love, a charity which collects blankets for the homeless populations in San Diego and Tijuana. He would like to study finance in college next year. Sam is being escorted on the field by his mother, Sarah Roughneen.”
Blanchard Seniff:
“As part of a Navy family Blanchard has lived all over the world, but in Coronado for the past 11 years, attending first through 12th grade here. He considers himself a native Islander. Blanchard is co-captain of Coronado High School men’s golf team and works at the Municipal Golf Course. Blanchard is applying to colleges in North and South Carolina where he plans to study Neuroscience and Psychology. He looks forward to living near his brother and grandparents, listening to country music and eating good Southern country food. Blanchard is being escorted on the field by his mom, Joette Seniff.”
Arjavon Talebzadeh:
“Arjavon Talebzadeh is currently the president of National Honor Society. He is not afraid to take initiative and strives to help others in need. He founded San Diego Kids Helping Kids, an organization that helps foster children. Arjavon was selected by his teachers to be a recipient of the Optimist Award. He believes in paying it forward and wants to start a rippling effect of selflessness and helping the community. Arjavon started the Super Smash Bros. Club two years ago as a means of bringing CHS students together while playing video games.
After graduation, Arjavon seeks to pursue a career as an electrical engineer. Arjavon attributes his success to the quality education he received at CHS. He could not have done it without all the wonderful people in his life. He wants to thank his parents, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Collins, Mr. Lemei, Mr. Hoang, Mr. Couture, Mrs. Bertelsen, Mrs. Castillo, Mrs. Chrisman, and countless others.”
Abby Boyle and Blanchard Seniff were named homecoming queen and king.
Coronado’s varsity football team fell to San Diego High School 36-0.
HOMECOMING DANCE
The next night, the student body concluded their homecoming festivities at the Fleet Science Center with the Arcade Through the Decades homecoming dance. Dessert and appetizers were provided at the dance, as well as an entire museum filled with arcade games and a deejay for entertainment.
Congratulations, and thank you, to Mrs. Belong and her amazing Associated Student Body for planning and executing a memorable weekend for Coronado High School!
Photos by Sean O’Connor
