There’s a sea of red, green, and white; sounds of bagpipes and cheers of “Let’s go Rams” fill the air; food trucks haul in a smorgasbord of delectable dinner and dessert items; the glow of a bonfire warms the crowd and hearts race, giving their all to the ultimate rivalry athletic contests—it must be MICDS Homecoming Weekend!
For the entire week leading up to Homecoming, students across campus dressed up for a fun and festive Spirit Week. They came dressed in their favorite pajamas, jerseys, MICDS colors, and even had an Adam Sandler Day in the Upper School. On Wednesday, everyone from JK through 12th grade wore this year’s Homecoming t-shirt, designed by Trini V-P. ’28 (front design) and Morgan Macam ’26 (back design). Check out all of the fun outfits in the albums below!
Lower School Spirit Week
Middle School Spirit Week
Upper School Spirit Week
Varsity Captains Welcome
On Tuesday morning of Homecoming Week, all of our fall varsity captains came together to welcome students as they arrived for school. This new idea from Nick Menneke, Middle School Assistant Athletic Director and Middle School PE Teacher, was supported by every fall team. Menneke’s hope was that the welcome from the captains would fire up the entire school community for Homecoming Spirit Week and set the tone for an energetic and fun week ahead.
Captains positioned themselves at the entrances of Beasley, Middle School, and Upper School. They wore their game uniform or team shirt/sweatshirt. Then, they had the fun “job” of giving high-fives, knucks, and generally getting fellow Rams excited about Homecoming.
All-School Pep Rally
After a festive week in spirit wear, students were officially pumped up for a Homecoming weekend to remember. To kick off the festivities, the full Junior Kindergarten through 12th-grade community of students, teachers, and staff gathered on Friday afternoon at Ron Holtman Stadium for the all-school pep rally.
Upper School Band students played upbeat music as students filed into their seats on the field and in the stadium. Athletic co-heads Lexi C. ’27 and Kiefer W. ’27 greeted everyone, and Head of School Chelle Wabrek, excited for her first MICDS Homecoming, gave an enthusiastic hello to Ram Nation. Then, the Middle School, JV, and Varsity Cheerleading teams performed, followed by the grand entrances of each fall athletic team. Each team’s captains took the stage to introduce their team members, who ran onto the field and performed a quick skit or cheer in a themed outfit. How fun for the whole school to get the chance to pump up each sports team!
The Pep Rally also included an all-school “R-A-M-S” cheer, led by Hank L. ’39 and Mrs. Wabrek. Then, a contest followed with representatives from Lower School defeating the teams from Middle School, Upper School, and our faculty and staff. As the band played while everyone exited, it was clear that our Rams were pumped up for Homecoming Weekend 2026!
Food Truck Friday
Immediately after the Pep Rally, Upper Schoolers cheered one another on at the annual Senior Boat Races. Then, it was off to Food Truck Friday, where the full Rams community indulged in delicious meals, drinks, and desserts from a variety of food trucks: Crispy Sips, Doughboy’s Pizza, “G” Burrito, Homestyle Grill, KONA Ice, Too Sweetz, and Zacchi. Thanks to the Arts Boosters, families also enjoyed a bracelet-making station and MICDS temporary tattoos.
Parade & Bonfire
As the sun set and dusk fell, the familiar tones of the iconic bagpipes played as the musicians, cheerleaders, and football players paraded from the Upper School campus, past Olson Hall, and down to the packed bonfire field behind the MAC. Alum and current parent Robert Wallach ’00, P’35, ’38, led the pipe band wearing a Rams jersey over his kilt. The energy was palpable as the parade marched to the gathering of hundreds of current students, parents, alumni, faculty, and staff. Soon, football players lit the bonfire and were joined by the cheerleaders as they sang the CODASCO Fight Song in the glowing heat. Everyone was officially fired up for Homecoming Weekend!
MICDS-JBS Family Fun Run
Bright and early on Saturday morning, the MICDS campus was filled with energy again as both Ram and John Burroughs School Bomber families prepared for the 2.5-mile MICDS-JBS Fun Run. In Founders’ Court at Tschudy Gates, families grabbed snacks and swag before jogging or strolling from our campus to Burroughs. Both heads of school even completed the walk together while surrounded by both schools’ colors: red, green, blue, and gold. It was a perfect fall morning for a lovely jaunt between the two rival schools.
Carnival & BBQ
From late morning through lunchtime, families enjoyed the annual Homecoming Carnival and BBQ. The MAC was transformed into a world of games, prizes, face painting, magic, and inflatables—all in the name of MICDS spirit. Attendees enjoyed a bite to eat on the north patio of the MAC with delicious carnival-style food of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and cookies, provided by FLIK. Charger made a special appearance, and students screamed with delight as they slid down the inflatable slides or jumped in line to get their faces painted. What a delightful afternoon, with the big Homecoming football game next!
Athletic Contests & Ram Run
All weekend, the MICDS Rams competed against the JBS Bombers in their highly anticipated athletic contests. This year, varsity competitions, except for Varsity Tennis, were held at Burroughs, while the rest of the competitions were hosted at MICDS. A big congratulations to Volleyball, Girls Tennis, Boys Swimming & Diving, and Football for their wins against Burroughs! History was made by both the Girls Tennis and Volleyball teams, who had their first Homecoming victories against JBS in 16 and 12 years, respectively!
The athletic contests culminated with the afternoon football game, which was kicked off with the Ram Run. MICDS Upper Schoolers in the Rams Army spirit club raced down to the football stadium clad in themed white-out wear, paint, baking flour, and baby powder. Soon, the game was underway, and our Rams secured a 60-20 victory.
In the evening, the festivities concluded with the Masquerade Ball, this year’s Upper School Homecoming Dance. After a busy week of school spirit and athletic competitions, students danced the night away before getting some well-earned rest.
A special thank you to all who helped make MICDS Homecoming such a memorable occasion! It would not be such a spirited success without the support of Associate Director of Events Sydney Brockman, Director of Athletics Josh Smith, our many volunteers (parents, students, and alumni), coaches, game officials, our grounds, maintenance, housekeeping, technology, and security crews, the Alumni & Development team, the MICDS Parents Association, FLIK Independent School Dining, and, of course, our fabulous student-athletes and sports fans. We are also grateful to Burroughs for the friendly competition and century-old rivalry. From the many traditions that make up how we celebrate Homecoming today, this was a Homecoming to remember. Go Rams!