A crew of seniors laugh and and eat their dripping watermelon while gossiping about their summers and comparing schedules. Numerous pictures are being taken and edited before they are posted to Instagram. The setting sun is beating down on everyone’s faces, but also providing great lighting for the pictures.

Watermelon supper has been a Texas High tradition for
many years. It starts off with a pep rally in the gym where the band plays for a crowd for the first time this year. After that, the students spill out into the courtyard to eat some juicy watermelon and socialize.

“I love it because it’s so exciting to have everyone together right before school starts,” senior Anna Catherine Boudreaux said. “It’s like a party for the whole school.”

During the pep rally, the drill team performs new routines that they have been practicing during the summer break. Texas High recently hired a new drill team coach, and this was the first time the team performed with her.

“Our new director, Mrs. Reynolds, is working us very hard and does everything
she can to make us look our best when we perform,” junior lieutenant Leighton Weber said. “Our team is very talented, and I think we performed really well at watermelon supper. I think we will continue to improve throughout the year.”

The cheerleaders also perform at the watermelon supper pep rally. Not only have they had practices over the summer, they also attended a cheer camp in Austin where they learned new things for the upcoming school year.

“We worked really hard all summer on the watermelon supper pep rally routine, so I think we are all really happy with how we did,”  senior cheer captain Chelsea Villanueva said. “Overall, I think the squads did awesome with the first performance. Now we just have to start working on our routines for the pep rallies to come this year.”

Watermelon supper just wouldn’t be the same without the band playing in the pep rally. The tuba song and the fight song are some of the crowd favorites.

“This year, I felt that the all-around turnout and participation of the crowd was bigger,” junior Elijah Lovett said. “It was definitely better than previous years.”

The watermelon supper is a great place to reconnect with friends and talk about the upcoming school year. It’s also a great environment for incoming freshman who are nervous about their first day of high school.

“I am very glad I got to go to watermelon supper before school,” freshman Madison Brown said. “It was a good opportunity to see friends and get excited about the school year.”

Watermelon supper brings the students back together and allows them to get ready before the start of school.

“I love the watermelon supper,” junior Elijah Lovett said. “I feel that it is the beginning to all things that go on at Texas High, and I feel at home.”