Lenape Presents: The Battle of the Cities
The famous Lenape tradition has made a return to the spotlight! Of course, the tradition I’m referring to is the hallway decorating competition, where each class is assigned a hallway to decorate according to a certain theme. This year’s theme was a battle of the cities.
The seniors, who got the first pick, were assigned to E hall and chose Las Vegas. The juniors, decorating A hall, picked Paris.
The sophomores, participating in their first hallway decorating contest, picked Tokyo and decorated outside of the Media Center. The freshmen, also first-time hallway decorators, were assigned to NB hall and chose Philly.
The goal of each class was to create a hallway that mimicked their chosen city. After weeks of working, decorators added final touches to their creations and taped them to the walls, as well as created additional items to spruce up their hallway.
Students were so enthusiastic about their work that they decorated into the night. Starting right after school and ending around 10 pm, hallway decorating was quite a sight. The halls were filled with ladders, supplies, pizza, determined students and advisors, and even Christmas music! If the decorators’ laughter and singing were a representation of the fun they had, I’d say it’s safe to say they had a blast.
Just like how it’s a tradition to eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, hallway decorating has traditions within traditions. One of these traditions is to incorporate every class member’s name into the decorations.
To accomplish this, the juniors chose to print out croissants, sophomores made lanterns, and the freshmen cut out liberty bells.
Another tradition is to make fun of the other class’ cities. The seniors did this by replicating casino games where they played and won against the other classes, the juniors drew Ratatouille cooking a pot of the other cities’ landmarks, and the sophomores created Godzilla destroying the other cities.
One last tradition, and my favorite, is mocking the other class advisors. The sophomores made their advisors into chopsticks which ate sushi pieces with the other class advisors’ faces on them, and the seniors glued faces onto dancers. The seniors also incorporated Mr. Cattani by making him a dealer in Blackjack.
Results
The seniors, participating in their last hallway decorating, took home the win! Sophomores came in second, followed by the freshmen, and juniors took last. Although the seniors took first place, all of the classes should be proud. All of the hallways were breathtaking, colorful, and immensely creative. When I first walked through the halls, I was amazed by what each class was able to accomplish.
As one of the sophomore decorators, I can confidently say that hallway decorating is something that everyone would enjoy. It offers the opportunity to hang out with friends, meet new people, and relax.
Hallway decorating offers the feeling of involvement and gives students a way to express themselves. The process from start to finish is fun, but seeing the finished product is what makes it worthwhile. I won’t forget taking my first walk through our finished hall. After weeks of planning and creating, seeing our hard work displayed on the walls was indescribable. I felt a flood of pride, joy, and accomplishment.
High school only happens once, so make sure to try new things and take advantage of every opportunity thrown at you. Don’t miss out on something that you’ll later look back on and regret; seize the moment now. Try new activities, join different clubs, and give hallway decorating a chance! All are welcomed and appreciated, whether you’re artistic, or artistically challenged.
More pictures of hallway decorations can be found using the following links: