In the lead-up to the school’s winter break, Prefect Council organized WinterFest, a two-week-long celebration Dec. 6 to Dec. 17.

During the first week of WinterFest, Prefect Council assigned each school day a different theme: Flannel Day, Winter Accessories Day, Ugly Sweater Day and Anything but a Backpack Day. Throughout the week, Prefect Council also held special activities such as the Elf on the Shelf-inspired “Rick on the Commons” competition, in which participants searched campus for a doll designed to look like President Rick Commons. Winners Joey Schoenberg ’22, Jo Grody ’22, Illi Kreiz ’24 and Kaelyn Choi ’22 won randomly selected gift cards to either Amazon, Starbucks or Erewhon.

The second week of WinterFest is an extended Pajama Day; students are encouraged to wear nighttime attire through the full school week.

Throughout the remainder of WinterFest, students will have the opportunity to purchase Candy Cane Grams to be sent to a friend or faculty member. Additionally, students will sell their homemade, winter-themed artisanal goods in the Winter Market, open Dec. 16-17.

Senior Prefect Joy Ho ’22 said Prefect Council aimed to foster holiday cheer through the themed activities.

“This is often a very stressful time for students with lots of assessments and assignments,” Ho said. “WinterFest, along with its many special events, is designed to help bring our community closer and relieve the academic-related pressure that many students are feeling.”

Idalis McZeal ’23 said WinterFest provided her with entertainment in an otherwise work-heavy week. 

“[WinterFest] was really fun to participate in,” McZeal said. “It was funny to see everyone’s takes on the different themes, especially Ugly Sweater Day. WinterFest definitely helped me get my mind off of school-related stress.”

Out of all the dress-up themes, McZeal said Winter Accessories Day was her favorite. 

“I feel it was relatively easy to find clothes to wear that day,” McZeal said. “I also really liked [Winter Accessories Day] because it gave me the opportunity to wear gloves, scarves and other clothing that we in Los Angeles don’t get to wear [too] often.”

Ceerous LeSage ’23 said he enjoyed participating in the “Rick on the Commons” competition. 

“Even though I didn’t end up finding [the doll], it was fun to go around campus searching in places I’d never been before,” LeSage said.