Duchesne Academy Halloween… and Congé!

Duchesne hosted their very first Halloween all school costume fashion show in front of the White House lawn. At 9:40 am, the Upper School girls picked up their Lower School chapel buddies at their classrooms, and the Middle School girls and Faculty met them at the lawn.

From left: 7th graders, Micah McCord, Shepard Vazquez, Alexandra Cherington, Olivia de la Garza, Blake Louvar, Merma Radhakrishnan, Blythe Harris, and Alette Welch as Chick fil- A.

As girls strutted the stage, the speakers blasted classic Halloween songs like “Monster Mash” by Bobby Picket and “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Junior. Some of the favorites were the Chick-fil-A group and Crocs group! The faculty joined the fun by walking the catwalk in some great costumes like chemistry teacher Aimee Modic as Amelia Earhart. At the end of the parade, Head of school, Ms. Hillary Feerick-Hillenbrand, announced that the best group was senioritis. Then 6 seniors came down the walkway, unzipping their jackets to spell out Congé which revealed it was Congé to the whole school. In the past few years, Congé had been in the spring, so this year’s early Congé was especially unexpected. Other seniors shot out confetti canons while everyone was cheering and clapping. 

Upper School teachers, Casey Burton, Alexandra Ferretti, Augusta Guthrie, and Aaron Markham walking down the runway as hikers.

To kick off Congé, Upper Schoolers painted canvas tote bags with their chapel buddies in their rooms. Upper School students got to spend real quality time with their lower school buddies aside from attending masses and pep rallies. Some other activities included face painting and musical chairs in the dome. Seniors on the Congé Committee painted pumpkins, cats, stitches, and spider webs on girls’ faces. By the White House lawn, there was line dancing and much needed hot cocoa for the cold weather. The petting zoo was beloved by the Lower School girls, as they got to pet donkeys and lambs. For folks who wanted a more relaxing activity, various Halloween movies were played inside the theatre including Girl vs Monster (2012). Middle Schoolers particularly enjoyed playing in the inflatable bouncy houses on the field, which were perfect to keep warm outside by moving and racing one another.

Seniors Carmen Colon, Kaely Suarez, Sarah Jordan, Victoria Cramp, Tatum DuttonLewis, and Grace Giveon revealing Congé.

By far the most popular activity in Middle and Upper School was the haunted house in the gym. The Duchesne Athletic Department organized and executed the haunted house by arranging tents, black tarps, spider webs, coffins, and other decorations. The lights were turned off and creepy music in the background added a spooky affect. Teachers guided groups of three to five students throughout the haunted house. Teachers wore scary masks, hid throughout the haunted house and jumped out and scared the girls. There were many outbursts of screams, laughter and occasional falling from shock. The line outside the entrance remained long the entire day, as everyone wanted to go, and sometimes wanted to go again!

Ava Zagorski showing off her pumpkin and spider web facepainting.

Fine Arts teacher, Greg Cote summed up his experience scaring people in the haunted house, “Halloween is one of my favorite days every year. This year being part of the haunted house just made it that much better. My favorite part was the different ways that people reacted to the jump scares. People really ran the gamut from no reaction… not even breaking their stride, to the folks who literally collapsed or took off in a full on sprint. Had a great time.”

Senior Andrea Lessmann painting some bird art on bird enthusiast Olive Cavataio who is in 2nd grade.

There was no shortage of activities. This Halloween and surprise Congé was memorable for everyone at Duchesne!