Siena Hardy

The freshmen and junior classes face an intense standstill in a tug-of-war competition. On October 27, after an action-packed spirit week, Hollis Brookline High School held the annual school-wide Halloween Assembly featuring lots of activities like tug-of-war. “The Halloween Assembly really brings people together for the Halloween season,” said Charlotte Petrella ‘25.

On October 27, after an action-packed spirit week, Hollis Brookline High School held the annual school-wide Halloween Assembly put on by the Junior Class Student Council.

The annual assembly takes place at the end of the day and allows the entire school to celebrate the holiday.  The assembly provides everyone an opportunity to “take a break from school [work], the stress, and have fun as an entire school together,” said Charlotte Petrella ‘25.  

This year’s emcees were Class of ‘25 Representative Kate Berrigan and Student Body Vice President Maggie Noble ‘25.  Emcees play a big part in the success of an assembly, and Berrigan strived to have “a lot of energy” and “lead the school with good positivity.”  Featuring festive music, the two started by welcoming the seniors who entered by running through a poster, before leading the spirit chant and assembly games.

This year’s Halloween Assembly featured many familiar games and activities that have been popular in years past.  “It is tradition to do the same activities year after year,” said Berrigan.  These classic games are chosen due to their popularity among the student body. “We always have the traditional tug of war and musical chair games because we receive the most student interest and participation in them,” said Mindi Hu, Class of ‘25 Student Council Representative. These games allow the grades to compete against each other, with one grade coming out on top for each one. The freshmen took home the win for musical chairs, while the seniors won out a few tough rounds of tug of war.

The planning process for the assembly is no easy task. “We have to plan everything out minute by minute,” said Berrigan. Throughout the planning process, the Junior Class Council worked hard to introduce more school spirit and games into the assembly.  “We planned new games that hopefully will gauge more interest and more participation [from] the whole school,” said Hu.  Donut-on-a-string was a new addition to the annual assembly, allowing students and teachers to compete in an eating relay race.  The other new activity was the three-legged race, where a duo from each grade raced across the gym.  The freshmen won the former, while the seniors won the latter.

The assembly finished with the annual costume contest.  For teachers, Frida Kahlo, the Emojis,  the Skittles and the Math Department’s Mathletes competed, but Justin Ballou as a chicken ultimately won the crowd’s support.  For students, competitors included an Avatar duo, spooky skeletons, and the Minions, but the finalists were a group of festive Christmas trees and the Smurfs.  In the end, the Smurfs took the crown, linking arms and dancing with principal Tim Girzone dressed up as Papa Smurf.

Leading up to the assembly was this year’s Halloween Spirit Week which had five unique dress-up days: Sweater Weather Day, Surfer vs. Biker, Wear Pink, Superhero vs. Villain, and the fan-favorite Costume Day.  Dress-up days like Sweater Weather Day allowed a wider part of the student body to participate, while Superhero vs. Villain Day allowed some students to go all out.  Wear Pink Day was fun as a reference to the movie Mean Girls while also supporting breast cancer awareness.  These days can be a blast for the entire school. “I think they’re really fun if everyone dresses up,” said Petrella.  

The next HBHS pep rally assembly is set to take place during Spirit Week, the week leading up to February vacation.