Gallery • 10 Photos

Credit: Sophia Ciokajlo

Taveon Vaughn sprints down the court in the game against Portage Northern.

Winterfest brought a boost of school spirit to Loy Norrix on the week of Jan. 30. 

The festivities started off with dress up days leading up to the day of the Winterfest dance. Students were invited to dress for various themes as a way of building school spirit.  The dress up days included, character day, country vs. country club, formal day, celebrity day and blue and white day. 

On Friday, a pep-assembly was held during 5th hour: students got to sit with their friends and watch the various forms of entertainment available. A DJ played and the advanced EFA dance class performed. 

Afterward, a few nominees were chosen to play a game.

There were two groups of partners and they would play catch with a basketball until the music stopped. When the music stopped, one student was chosen to guess the name of the song playing. 

Then, the senior court nominees were announced: Trevor Watts, Aanje Greymountain, Jaydon Kelly, Tom Clark, Nadia Abbott, Wendy Midema, Imani Foster, Dre Dixen and Andre Gunn. 

That night at 7 p.m., students came to support the men’s varsity basketball team as they faced off against Portage Northern. 

“I thought that not a lot of people showed up, [but] we had a lot of spirit,” said junior Maggie Loncharte. 

Norrix took the win with a final score of 82-51. At halftime the Winterfest court winners were announced: Imani Foster was deemed the winner with Trevor Watts as runner-up. Then student rapper and senior Jayden Lipsey performed. 

Directly after the game, students were invited to attend the Candlyland-themed winterfest dance that was put on by the class of 2026. 

Initial ticket sales for the dance were low in comparison to winter formal, but turnout ended up being higher than anticipated with many students purchasing tickets at the door.

The dance was hosted in the cafeteria, which was decorated with colorful balloons. In the hallway, candy and water were served as refreshments for the students. Bags were provided for the students so that they could make their own goody bag of assorted candy to take home. 

Freshman, Carter Pickett expressed appreciation for the allergen-safe refreshments. However, the refreshments were not the only thing he found enjoyable about the event. 

“I had a great time and the DJ did a great job,” said Pickett. 

Fun is not always the first thing that comes to mind for students when they think of school, but activities like Winterfest allow students a change of pace from their typical school day and is a friendly reminder that school can be enjoyable.