Pumpkins, ghosts and autumn leaves have adorned classroom doors across campus thanks to Northwood’s Advisement Door Decorating Contest. Held from Oct. 23 to 27, this week-long event encouraged friendly competition among Advisements as students worked together to design their Advisement’s door.
History teacher Greg Guy’s advisement won the contest, which was announced on Nov. 1. They received donuts as their prize. All participating Advisements got a certificate of appreciation for their door decorations. Though participation was voluntary, over 30 Advisements joined. A team of anonymous Northwood staff, none with an Advisement, reviewed door photos to pick finalists.
“I really liked the contest,” school psychologist Jaime Carey’s advisement student junior Jolene Mooney said. “Decorating the door gave my Advisement something fun to work on as a group. We put a lot of effort into our door and it looks pretty great.”
The contest was part of a push by Northwood’s Social Emotional Learning team to create more community-focused, low-stakes activities within Advisements. According to physical education teacher and SEL lead teacher Margie Gutierrez, the goal was to offer students a fun way to connect without adding academic stress.
“The door decorating competition didn’t need to be crazy,” Gutierrez said. “We wanted it to be student-led, easily accessible and fun.”
Although this event has ended, students are encouraged to engage in future activities to continue fostering school spirit. Students can talk to their advisement teachers about participating in these school-wide contests and other events if they did not participate in the door decorating contest.
“Involve yourself—don’t just sit back,” Gutierrez said. “Even if it’s something as silly as decorating a door, it’s the little things that add up, and that’s what this event is. It’s a little moment that is hopefully a little bit of fun that adds a little bit of joy to someone’s day.”
