Ethan Tawn
On Oct. 31, Aragon held its annual Halloween rally in center court during lunch.
The rally opened with a performance from the Aragon dance program to a mashup of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads and “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga.
“These were songs that we felt went well together and were high-energy to choreograph for, [which] you need to have for a rally,” said senior and student dance director Ella Taylor. “It’s very different [from] performing on stage because it has to have that energy that people are going to be drawn to.”
Staff members then competed in a costume contest, presenting a variety of costumes, including Taylor Swift albums from the social studies department, the Hocus Pocus Sanderson sisters from the art department, scrabble letters from the office, cowboys from the English department and “Spa Pirates” from the wellness counselors.
The winning team was the science department, replicating the colors of a rainbow via a prism.
“I am a competitive human [and] I like to win, especially when it comes to beating the math department, so I feel very gratified,” said chemistry teacher Max von Euw. “I think it was well-deserved; we worked hard. I truly thought that last year, with our heavy metals costume, we were going to win, [but] math squeaked out with their Barbie costume, so this has been a long time coming.”
The math department came in second place, dressing up as Mardi ‘Graph,’ a play on the holiday Mardi Gras.
“I’m actually okay with [being second] because we often win, [and] the science teachers were very clever,” said math teacher Alice Hu. “ I liked their whole concept, it was different. Having a whole skit, and at the same time [teaching] an actual science lesson, was very thoughtful.”
Following the staffulty contest was the student costume contest, the winner of which was junior Shea Peni, who dressed up as TV show host Steve Harvey.
“I was a little scared to come to school in a bald cap because I thought I looked kind of stupid, but I decided to anyway because I thought it’d be fun,” Shea said. “It was very validating [though] — I look stupid for a reason. Then [it] paid off because I won the contest.”
Other students dressed up as classic monsters, TV show characters and inflatable figures.
“I really loved all the costumes, like the Mr. [von Euw] one [was] super iconic,” said sophomore Lia Alves. “I [also liked] the plants versus monsters one because it takes a lot of coordination and dedication to put together something that works in a group.”
Alves also encourages more original costumes.
“Everybody should feel free to be whatever they want for Halloween,” Alves said. “[Halloween is] really a chance to express your creativity, so don’t let yourself be held back by any social norms.”
