February 4, 2008 -- In celebration of winter and to help keep cabin fever at bay, Winter Carnival sparks school spirit with a week-long celebration of fun, friendly competition. Winter Carnival officially opened last Sunday when the seven academic teams chose team colors and themes and brought these to life on posters. Each team gets points for most participation or team placement in organized activities. At the end of the Carnival, the team with the most points wins the coveted Headmaster’s Cup.

Winter Carnival Photo Gallery

The first “event” (this was a grueling one) took place Monday morning, when students and faculty were invited to show up for a pancake breakfast in their PJs. Teams were awarded points based on how many members showed up. Team Hossack took first place honors, followed by Team Martin in second place, and Team Thomas in third.

Monday evening the first “sporting” event – the Egg Drop – occurred. Teams selected a few members who had a limited time to create something to protect their egg from the drop and then each team had to drop their protected egg from the mezzanine in the Student Center. I don’t have the details but four teams – Hossack, Martin, Cooper, and Lawlor – must have some structural engineers because they tied for first place.

Tuesday, not long after breakfast had digested, it was time for pie! Two students from each team (a male and female) volunteered (or maybe were paid off) to see how quickly they could eat a pie. Even though he doesn’t look like he eats many pies, Team Thomas’ Fritz Kleinhempel '08 turned out to be The Brewster Pie Guy, devouring his pie in record time.

Wednesday morning the entire school gathered in the Smith Center to witness the sheer brute strength of, well, some of the teams. Team Cooper -- with names like Brown, Lutzenkirchen, Cyr, Manierre, Hamlin, Recht, Brewster, Kilgour, Fox, Doyen, and Edson on the rope -- couldn’t be brought down. Teams Martin and Cook took second and third places, respectively.

With a Head of School Holiday called for Thursday, students had time to sleep in and get extra rest for the Olympic Games component of Winter Carnival. Teams traveled off-campus to nearby Camp North Woods for the competitions, which included a sled pull, scooter racing, dizzy Lizzy, rope burning, and snowball archery.

Team Lawlor won the Guitar Hero contest on Friday night with Teams Hossack and Yau taking second and third places respectively. On Saturday night, Jackson Callahan '11 was crowned king of the Winter Formal while Leigh Hofmeister '10 was crowned queen. On Monday, during halftime at the boys' varsity basketball team, Team Lawlor won the balloon stomp contest. Following the balloon stomp, the Dance Club performed for the basketball fans and then Mike Cooper came out on the court with the Winter Carnival Cup in hand and announced that Team Cooper was the 2008 Winter Carnival Champions.