The boarding community dressed to impress on Tuesday, October 22, for the Halloween-themed community dinner. Each dorm tried to snag the prize of the best Halloween costume.The community dinner atmosphere was more festive than the actual night of Halloween, as not many boarding students went trick-or-treating on October 31 itself.

At the community dinner, dorms brought to life the costumes and performances that they had planned. Dorm affiliates also dressed up for the evening, trying to gain points for their dorm. Johnston A dressed up as foxes and danced to the song “The Fox” by Ylvis, which earned them first place in the competition. Johnston C, who came in second place, dressed up as s’mores and fire, created a short story about how a s’more is made. Wheeler dorm dressed up as Dias de Los Muertos and came in third place.

The dorm competitions for the month of October came to an end with Johnston A and Johnston B tying for first place with 36 points. Johnston D came in a close second with 28 points, and Grey Lodge in third with 24 points. Wheeler and Johnston B ended with 21 and 14 points respectively. The dorm competitions will continue throughout the year, giving other dorms “chances to pull ahead,” says Marcie Bruder, head of activities. The final results for the overall winner will be announced in the month of May.

The Halloween festivities continued a week later at Dana on October 31, the night of Halloween. Students did not dress in costume during the day, in part because class photographs were taken that morning. Kristin Ryan, Dean of Students, explained that it was “completely accidental” that the class pictures were taken on Halloween and that it was the “company’s choice.”

Boarders were given the chance to go trick-or-treating from 5:45 to 6:45 that night in the surrounding neighborhood. Not many boarding students went because there was “not enough time given to us,” says Lorena Reyes ’14. Donna Corrigan, head of boarding life, explains that students are not exempt from study hall that night because the students are “close to exams and the girls need to have that extra time for studying.”

Photo: Wheeler students dressed as Dias de Los Muertos for the Halloween-themed community dinner on October 22. Photo credit: Lorena Reyes ’14.