Prefect Council hosted the annual Halloween costume contest in front of Chalmers Hall on Oct. 31. The contest was held in addition to the after-school Halloween Coffeehouse, also organized by Prefect Council.

The contest took place during the schoolwide lunch period. Contestants walked down a red carpet and were judged by a panel of faculty judges, comprised of Head of Upper School Beth Slattery, Dean Sara Miranda, Visual Arts Teacher Whitney Lasker and Math Teacher Derric Chien.

Stella Glazer ’23, who won the individual costume contest, said she enjoyed the liveliness of the event.

“I dressed up as Walter White from ‘Breaking Bad’ because I love the show and really wanted a reason to wear a bald cap,” Glazer said. “There was a panel of administrators judging, and although I didn’t plan on participating, a Prefect approached me and asked me to participate, so I just did it for fun.”

Glazer said she was proud to have won the event.

“There was no award, only bragging rights,” Glazer said. “But the people that had planned the event said they would get me a gift card or something. I love dressing up in costumes and doing fun makeup, so I would definitely say I enjoy costume contests.”

The World Languages Department participated in a joint costume idea, dressing up as characters from the film “Men in Black,” winning the group division of the contest. World Languages Department Chair Veronica Cherry said the idea was simple but fun.

“One day, a member of our department came to school in a black pantsuit, so another member got the idea that we should all dress as ‘Men in Black’ for Halloween,” Cherry said. “It was easy because most of us already had black pants and a black jacket, so we didn’t have to purchase much. Some purchased cheap sunglasses or a necktie.”

Cherry said her department was excited to coordinate costumes.

“We started talking about dressing up over a month prior because several of us love to dress up, and we were just brainstorming,” Cherry said. “We wanted to dress up even if there had not been a costume contest.”

Cherry said Prefect Council did an incredible job of bringing the school community together with the competition.

“I think it helps school spirit because everyone can participate either as someone who enters the contest, as a judge or as a spectator,” Cherry said. “Everyone gets excited to see the creativity that goes into selecting or creating the costumes.”