"About Us" - Romania | Page 23

INFORMAL Activities, Homecoming The Town’s Homecoming events cannot be described as dancing events, where the students pay for night gowns and limousines. Rather than dancing events the homecomings from Targoviste , like many other ones in the country, are alike to true shows where the students fulfill the roles of compeers, organizers, decoration makers, dancers and contestants. The usual homecomings have a theme. The contestants are the new high school students and the organizers are older students, usually in eleventh grade that chose contestants, a theme, presentation speeches, search for sponsors and a place for the event and make the decorations, all under the close supervision of the assigned teachers . The college’s homecomings differentiate from the other ones in the town by bringing to the theme and wonderfully made décor and costumations a great way of presenting the event: trough theater. Most of the eleventh graders that organize the homecoming are on stage telling a beautiful story trough their acting. The events are extracurricular activities that help in the formation of the students, teaching them how to speak in the public and how to face their fear of stage, raise their competitive spirit and challenge their qualities, their managerial skills, their creativity. The decor, costumes and story are built around the theme which is carefully chose by the students and the teacher to be both impressive, constructive and have humoristic elements. The contestants are also chosen by the organizing students. They have to impress through their personality, power of speech, presence and talent. Thus there are chosen pairs of boys and girls to compete in a show for their colleagues. They all learn how to dance, to introduce themselves, to impress and to act, wishing to take part into the constructive event and wanting to achieve one of the three titles. The press is also drawn in, taking interviews of the participants. “It’s a challenge to make the new event more spectacular than the previous ones. My psychological preparations start as early as the beginning of the school year, because it [the event] asks for nerves, patience, passion, understanding from the school and the organizers, from the contestants and parents, lots of running and time. ” affirms Matei Bogdan, last year, about the shows he organizes every year since 2005. 21