Students and faculty agree that the winter door decorating contest, hosted by Parkland’s School Spirit Club, is a great opportunity for students to work with friends to make the halls of PHS festive during the winter season. Mrs. Sniezek, in her second year as advisor of the School Spirit Club, loves that the contest “gives students the chance to be creative and make the school a more welcoming place.” 

Students signed up to decorate a teacher’s door in November, and all doors were to be posted by December 9. When it comes to themes, the instructions were simple: create a spectacular Door Decoration to deck the halls for this winter season. Most teams were cognizant of the subject taught by the teacher whose door they decorated; Mrs. Litzenberger, a biology teacher at Parkland, says she appreciates it when the “theme corresponds to the subject or interest that the teacher has. For example, my door is very science-themed as I teach science.” 

Angelina Hallal, a senior, decorated Mrs. Litzenberger’s C-wing door in an outer-space, winter wonderland theme. Her group, consisting of seniors Naeema Salau, Habebah Nawar, and Devanshi Patel, spent three hours working on their door, splitting up the work so they could complete it on time. She thought “it was a fun way to hangout with my friends, and in the end, we created something that was really cool and we were all super happy with it.”

Similarly, Abigail Zellner and her group, representing the School Spirit Club, chose festive capybaras as their theme. Capybaras, native to South America, were a nod to the Spanish teacher whose door they decorated. This group also had an amazing time, saying it has been a “10/10 experience, with hard work, laughter, and the coming together of friendships.” Abigail and her friends would love to decorate a door again next year, and all are looking forward to decorating again for World Language Week.

Voting will begin the week of December 12, and Mrs. Sniezek says, “There are many unique contenders this year. I can’t wait to see how voting goes!” All winners should have received an email from Miss Sniezek and Miss Turczyn about their prizes. This joyous representation of holiday spirit adds color to the halls and provides a rewarding, fun-filled experience for all who take part.