Every year, Hollis Brookline High School hosts a Halloween assembly for their students on the annual Trebuchet Day. This assembly is a time for students to have fun by playing games and taking part in a costume contest.

The Halloween assembly is a place where students can show off their school spirit.  The excitement levels were pretty high this year, “more than they ever have been actually [it seemed],” said one of the hosts, Sal Fabbio ‘20.  This event is great for everyone: the participants, costume contest nominees and even the fans, made up of the student body and teachers. “When the whole school gets together and there’s just one common group of people participating in such an event, like playing games and everything, I think it is a fun time for everybody,” said Fabbio.

What makes this assembly exciting to watch is the games; this year, students participated in musical chairs and tug-of-war.  When students decide to get involved in these games, they are filled with excitement, as they have all the support from their grade.  Winning musical chairs “felt amazing, it felt like I just won the Super Bowl,” said, musical chairs winner, Jacob Abraham ‘19. During the game, the chairs slowly dwindled, and Abraham was still standing on the gym floor. The senior section grew louder and louder with every eliminated player, encouraging Abraham to win for his class. “It is fun to be supported by a crowd of people,” said Abraham.  “[Musical Chairs during the assembly] is fun, I would encourage people to play.”

Another aspect of this assembly is the costume contest for both students and teachers. For students, the costume contest has two different sections, one for solo costumes and one for group costumes.  Each student votes during lunch to nominate a costume for each category. Five group and individual nominees are brought down to the gym floor at the end of the day to show off their costumes. The hosts announce out each costume to the student body, and whichever costume receives the loudest cheer, wins.  

The group costume ideas are always very creative. The individual student winner, Dhruv Miglani, got his idea to dress as a president from his nickname.“[Everyone] calls me Mr. President, so I thought why not go all out, and… I even [had] two secret service agents,” he said.

Students always have a great time at this assembly, either by rooting for their fellow classmates or by participating in the games or costume contest.  Next year, students should try to outdo the costumes from this year, and win the costume contest for their class.