This post was submitted to Manual RedEye by Katie Cummins (10, J&C).

Executive Council (EC), the Steering Committees of each class, the Key Club and several student volunteers decorated Manual’s halls in preparation for Red/White Week Friday, Oct. 12.

EC worked from after school until about 8 p.m., with some seniors staying even longer than that. The other clubs and student volunteers left around 5 p.m.

In addition to hanging signs made by each Steering Committee, EC also strung thousands of balloons from one wall to the other on all three floors of the school and at both YPAS buildings.

“There’s going to be signs covering all the walls,” Amber Klein (10, MST), a member of EC, said.

All of the clubs have been preparing for the decorations for a long time, with the EC spending all of their meeting time Wednesday making sure each member knew how to make the night run as smoothly as possible.

“The steering committee worked for weeks on the banners, to make sure that they were perfect,” Lila McGuirk (10, MST), a member of the sophomore class’s Steering Committee, said.

Manual is set to undergo 29 million dollars worth of renovations in 2019, which may hinder the decorations for next year’s Red/White Week.

“It was a little bit bittersweet because this is the last year we’ll be able to decorate like this because of the renovations,” Klein said.

“I love the balloons in the hallway and I am going to be really sad next year when the low ceilings make that impossible,” Emma Rose (10, HSU), another member of the sophomore class’s Steering Committee, said.

The decorations for Red/White week have come to mean a lot to Manual students.

“The first time I walked into the school and I saw the balloons on Red/White week my eyes lit up,” Alice Kadner (10, HSU) said.

In addition to the decorations for Red/White Week, EC also coordinates the themes of each day, the activities, pep rallies and dances.