Celebrating the 29th Annual Under the Lights

School pride was on display this Spirit Week, held October 15–18, as students, faculty, and staff donned their most festive attire in the lead up to the 29th annual celebration of Under the Lights (UTL). 

This fall, Students Advocating School Spirit (SASS) brainstormed during lunchtime club meetings and announced the daily Spirit Week dress-up themes via an inspiration-filled bulletin board in the Bezan Lounge. Kicking off the week with “Dynamic duos,” costumed pairs like pineapple and pizza, Batman and Robin, Frozen’s Elsa and Anna, Wicked’s Glinda and Elphaba, and Dr. Suess’ Thing 1 and Thing 2 navigated campus together. The College Counseling Office formed a terrific trio of rock, paper, scissors, taking home an award for best dressed department. Creativity was on full display for “idiom day” and outfits explored popular phrases from “raining cats and dogs” to “curiosity killed the cat” and there were even several “social butterflies.” On “local legends day” students showed their beantown pride as Paul Revere, iterations of Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, and of course numerous Dunkin’ donuts, Dunkin’ coffees, and DunKings from the 2024 Super Bowl commercial.

Spirit Week always culminates in Red Day and everything from face paint to feathers, and from tutus to tennis shoes was red hot. Chef Heather even designed a festive red-hued lunch menu and this year’s offerings included roasted red potatoes, paprika chicken, and red seasonal veggies. On Red Day the entire school community enjoys a special schedule that culminates in a pep rally held in the Brock-Wilson Gymnasium. 

As students sat with their classes, SASS led the assembly in traditional cheers like “Red Hot” and “Hey All You Winsor Fans.” Lower School course Drum, Strum, and More kicked off the show with “Poled Over,” a two-part percussion piece featuring wooden poles, sticks and stomping on red wooden boards. The students had the opportunity to decorate their instruments in red and white stripes and stars in honor of UTL. The judges of the Spirit Week competition were Coach Euan Brown, Head of Performing Arts Felicia Brady-Lopez, Mathematics Faculty Mary Butcher, and Science Faculty Anna Ausabel. For weeks, entire grades met during community time to conceptualize and practice their cheer performance.

“We’re Class I and you know what we’ve got?…We’ve got a team that’s hotter than hot!” cheered Class I. Their call-and-response routine stole hearts and the littles Wildcats took home the prize for “biggest variety of talent.”

Standing in three lines, Class II ended their cheer with, “Let me hear you yell, Winsor!” They were awarded the accolade of “best rhythm, rotation, and rhyming.”

Class III had a special appearance by Class III Coordinator Josh Constant, who was hiding in a huddle of students. As students chanted “We’re working late,” Mr. Constant popped up to say, “Cuz you’ve got homework!” Class III received the award for “best singing and surprise element.”

“I said boom, it’s cold in here, there must be some fours in the atmosphere” opened the Class IV chant. Taking home the award for “most awesome display of unity,” they continued to sample popular songs with slightly altered lyrics including Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat” singing “we’re gonna party like it’s 2029”—an homage to the eighth graders graduating year. 

In Upper School, students can add a soundtrack to their routine and Class V kicked things off with a coordinated routine to songs including Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” before chanting their class cheer culminating in “GOOO Winsor!”

Meanwhile, Class VI marched in to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and added a kick routine to the chant of “sophomore year forever.”

Science Faculty and Institutional Researcher Denise Labiniec made a dramatic cameo appearance in the Class VII routine. Fainting from lack of school spirit, the juniors were called in to revive her and infuse the gym with a celebratory display of Winsor pride. While the juniors were the runners up, it was the seniors who took home first place. 

The Class of 2025 danced their hearts out, flipped their hair, and ended their routine with an homage to High School Musical. With clasped hands, they took a bow at their final Red Day pep rally.

A performance by the Winsor Dance Team, coached by Ann-Marie Ciaraldi featured songs like “Lose Control” by Missy Eliot which raised the energy in the entire gym. Moving betweens lines and tight formations, the dancers used space to their advantage and created a dynamic show. 

At the end of the pep rally, Upper School Senior Small sang the national anthem. Afterward everyone filtered outside to enjoy the perfect weather and cheer on the Wildcats. The homecoming games featured a full roster of Winsor athletes where mid, JV, and varsity teams across field hockey, soccer, and volleyball played 11 contests on campus. 

Hundreds of current Winsor families and alums returned to Pilgrim Road for the evening. The Winsor Parents’ Association made the atmosphere particularly festive with decorations and a spirit table stocked with red heart sunglasses, foam fingers, and red beads, as well as activity tables with face painting and a photobooth. Onlookers watched games and noshed on a cozy fall menu of pretzels, hot dogs, and chili. For something sweet, cinnamon sugar donut holes hit the spot.

To close out the weekend, on Sunday, October 20, Winsor crew took to the water with three boats racing in the 59th Head of the Charles Regatta, the largest rowing competition in the world. For the first time, 19 athletes competed for Winsor across three categories—the Womens Youth 4+, Womens Under 17 4+, and Womens Youth 8+. They walked away with fantastic results managing to requalify two boats for next year, and had a blast on the dock with amazing support from families, friends, and alums.