The costume contest judged participants for six categories: Best Overall, Best Duo, Scariest, Best Movie Character Replica, Most Creative and Best Group.
Freshmen Arjun Garlapati, Ayush Hotha, Aditya Karanam, Nima Noor, Vishak Pillai, Maks Shetler and Neel Tadikamala capture the childhood song “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.”
Costume themes varied from television shows and movies to nostalgic childhood personas as dozens of students and staff members dressed up for Halloween last Friday. Celebrations included a lunchtime costume contest and a teacher flashmob dance of “Thriller.”
This year’s contest, a parade complete with a red carpet runway, transformed the quad into a lively display of students’ and staff’s efforts.
The Spirit Commission, consisting of junior Chloe Nguyen and seniors Josh Chan, Kusum Das, Jayden Kwong and Brennan Pak, determined the winners; each winner received a $15 gift card for Starbucks. The winners are as follows:
Best Overall: Skeletonsfrom“Coco”(English teachers Megan Laws, Natasha Ritchie and Media Arts teacher Carla Villela)
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Best Duo:Nick Wilde and Judy Hoppsfrom “Zootopia” (seniors Matthew Liu and Sophie Qin)
Scariest: Dexter Morgan from “Dexter”(senior Ronny Holst)
Best Movie Character Replica: Carl Fredericksen and Russell from “Up”(seniors Nitin Sankar and Rebecca Wang)
Most Creative:Homestead referee (junior Akiva Goldwasser)
Best Group: Monkeys Jumping on the Bed(freshmen Arjun Garlapati, Ayush Hotha, Aditya Karanam, Nima Noor, Vishak Pillai, Maks Shetler and Neel Tadikamala)
Natasha Ritchie (left), Carla Villela (middle), and Megan Laws (right) dress as skeletons from “Coco”. (Madhura Natarajan)
Seniors Sophie Qin and Matthew Liu as “Zootopia” characters Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, respectively. (Madhura Natarajan)
Junior Akiva Goldwasser poses as a crooked referee. (Madhura Natarajan)
Sophomore Oliver Davis dresses as a vampire bat. (Madhura Natarajan)
Seniors Kiana Saddieh and Larry O’Brien duet as Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat, respectively. (Madhura Natarajan)
Science teacher Kristopher Orre as a lumberjack, complete with wig, overalls and an ax. (Madhura Natarajan)
Administrative staff steal the moon with their “Despicable Me” Minions costumes, with the addition of Vector, portrayed by campus supervisor Brandy Fisher. (Madhura Natarajan)
Seniors Nitin Sankar and Rebecca Wang as the main characters from “Up.” (Madhura Natarajan)
Drama teacher Benjamin Brotzman looks wicked in his Elphaba costume. (Madhura Natarajan)
Madhura Natarajan, Class of ’27 is a Life Editor and Social Media Head for the 2025-26 school year. She has prior experience in yearbook as a designer and photographer. Madhura has covered topics ranging from district policy to school related deep-dives to optimizing bedroom space. She is a homebody with a passion for mental health and environmental protection.
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