Fall Fest, held on Oct. 28, served as an opportunity to bring together the whole community with a series of themed activities.
Fall festivities began even earlier, on Oct. 20 with the Form 5 breakfast. Volunteers brought in apple cider, bagels, donuts, and more, giving the juniors a social hour to enjoy before their classes.
Competitions took place as an opportunity for students to earn house points. These included guessing how many Kit Kats were in a bag of Halloween candy and finding the hidden gnome on campus. The buzz of competition not only brought together the members of each house but worked to tie together the student body as a whole.
The whole school got the chance to dress up in their Halloween costumes on Oct. 28. This took a competitive twist during the costume contest at the special Friday Halloween assembly.
Hosted by senior Mac Louis and judged by an applause meter, the rest of the students decided whose costume was worth a prize. Winning costumes included a man with no face, the two maids, the athletic department dressed as gatorade bottles, and the “Breaking Bad” gang.
Junior Ava Cashman enjoyed the contest and seeing the hard work that went into everyone’s costume. “I loved watching the costume contest,” she said. “It was so interesting to see everyone’s creative costumes.”
Middle School students voted on which freshman advisory group decorated the best pumpkins and also took part in a costume parade. The parade allowed them to show off their creativity and fun costumes, while also being involved with the Upper School festivities.
After the competition, students gathered on the Senior Green for hot cocoa, apple cider, and donuts. Technical theater director Michael Bane played music for everyone to enjoy outside while having a snack. Groups took pictures, and everyone had fun together until classes resumed.
The opportunity to socialize with friends is extremely important when classes are stressful and students need time to pause and relax. Dean of Students Kata Baker emphasized the importance of community-building events. “There has been a push to create as many opportunities as possible for us to celebrate things together as a community,” she said.
The conflicting schedules between the Middle School and Upper School are often difficult to work around, but the faculty and student government worked hard to have the entire school involved in the festivities. Senior SGA Speaker Frank Pu added that student government will continue to ask the students what activities interest them. “We will actively reach out to the student body and ask for feedback, so we can have a better understanding of what they are interested in,” he said.
With engaging events organized by members of the Kingswood Oxford community, on-campus activities will fulfill the necessary outlet of unwinding with friends.
