Porter Day: A Highlight of the School Year
Barbara Mantzopoulos '26
Porter Day is eagerly anticipated by students every year, featuring a variety of events—from athletic to academic—where each grade competes for the coveted pirate wheel.
The day kicked off with a lively performance of “Be Our Guest” by Mr. Kalish. This was followed by a lip sync battle, where each grade presented a choreographed piece. The seniors emerged victorious, wowing the crowd with mash-up remixes of their favorite songs.
Academic competitions added an exciting twist this year with a new format for the spelling bee. Instead of the traditional approach, it became a team activity, inspired by the New York Times Spelling Bee. Students worked with a set of letters and an anchor letter, creating as many words as possible.
With Mr. Buckley away at a conference, Mr. Didonna stepped in as Emcee of the Trivia Bowl, maintaining the tradition of team-based challenges where students buzzed in with the right answers.
The STEM competition introduced a fresh challenge, where teams constructed containers to hold marbles using provided materials like tin foil and straws. The team whose container held the most marbles claimed victory. Additionally, the event featured a Rubik's Cube contest.
As the morning events concluded, the standings were close: freshmen in last, sophomores third, juniors second, and seniors leading. The lip sync battle was especially competitive.
The excitement continued in the gym with core sports like soccer and basketball, alongside the goofy games like the hula-hoop relay and leapfrog. Other rooms hosted video game competitions and a mural contest, ensuring there was something for everyone. Students not participating cheered enthusiastically from the bleachers.
By midday, the standings remained tight with juniors now in the lead. It became evident that to win, participation in all activities was crucial. This is where teams started to break apart with points; the classes that participated in all activities began to rack up the points, widening a close gap.
As the day ended with all activities tallied, the Seniors led with 67 points, followed by the juniors with 60, the sophomores with 55, and the freshmen with 24. It was a truly dramatic Porter Day, which ended with the Seniors winning the coveted pirate wheel.