On Wednesday Oct. 29, the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals in a nailbiter, winning the World Series for the third time in five years. On Friday Oct. 31, the victorious team returned to their hometown, where they were met by a parade of fans—and many Redwood students were in the crowd.

Classrooms were noticeably emptier that Friday—orange fever had struck the school, and the absence toll was high.

1,043 students were absent on Oct. 31 of 2014.

In 2012, the last time the Giants won the World Series, roughly 900 students—two-thirds of the school population—were absent.

Although some teachers continued with class as normal, others forwent their lesson plans in favor of something more relaxed.

“I still dressed up and did all my Halloween demos, and we had fun,” chemistry teacher Millie Hackworth said.

Athletes attended school because of sports games happening that afternoon or the next day—per district rules, students must attend four classes in order to be eligible to play.

Senior Tristan Pulver attended school so he could play in tomorrow’s football game.

“I feel like coming to school to watch movies and do nothing in class is kind of a waste of time,”  Pulver said. “So many students are gone, so it’s kind of ridiculous to maintain the four-period attendance policy.  I think most of the people on the team wanted to go to the parade, and our coach said that we couldn’t.”

Members of the boys’ varsity water polo team were also required to attend at least four periods for their game this afternoon.

Others came to just a few classes, maybe because of an important exam or project, before heading into the city and joining the revelers.

The Giants parade ran down Market St. and ended at the Civic Center. It called for 4,500 pounds of confetti and was expected to draw more than a million fans, despite the rainy weather.