Germantown Academy ended the week of October 29 with an impressive Halloween celebration. Most Halloween events were canceled last year due to COVID-19; hence, GA brought back its old Halloween traditions with even more excitement than before! Students were able to show their Halloween spirit through fun and engaging school-wide events such as pumpkin carving, a multi-division Halloween parade, and team costumes.
The house pumpkin-carving contest is considered to be the highlight of the Halloween festivities by many. In this competition, a representative from each house carves a pumpkin and the lower schoolers vote to determine which one is the best. This year, Washington House pulled away with the victory for their extremely creative and detailed pumpkin. Osbourn landed in second place, with Alcott Day following closely in third. Truesdell secured fourth and Roberts managed fifth despite the rotten pumpkin mishap that led them to have less carving time than the other houses. And lastly, Kershaw and Galloway tied for sixth, but still put forth a good effort. The house pumpkin-carving competition allows each house to unite and participate in some much-needed, healthy competition that tests each house’s creative and technical abilities.
Additionally, the Lower School’s Halloween parade allowed students to display their fun costumes to parents and fellow students alike. The Upper School sports teams had some very creative costumes which added spirit to the parade. Costumes ranged from “Cheetah Girls” and “Star Wars,” to “Men in Black,” and even the “Lorax.” The field hockey team’s creative approach with their street sign and traffic light costumes helped light up the parade— quite literally. In fact, a sophomore student from the field hockey team described the costume as “super creative,” and went on to say that it was also her favorite costume “since it was her team,” proving that these costumes created a furthered sense of spirit and unity among the teams. The enthusiasm and spirit associated with these costumes was heartwarming and much needed for the GA community. Claire Theobald ‘24 said that her “favorite costume of the day was the girls’ tennis team costume, where they dressed up as Cheetah girls,” bringing much happiness and joy to the parade.
When Casey Traina ‘22, SGA president, was asked for his thoughts on the Halloween parade, he said that “this year there was a lot more participation [than usual] from Upper School students.” Traina noticed that the “vast majority of the Upper School dressed up,” nodding to the lack of costumes seen within the Upper School last year. While a Halloween movie night was in the works, it was ultimately canceled due to students’ lack of interest because of previously-made Halloween plans. Traina and the rest of the Student Government Association said that they “hope to hold a Spring outdoor movie or Winter indoor movie in the Arts Center Theater” in the future, which Germantown Academy students are very much looking forward to.
