Fall Fest Week has come to a close, ending with the Fall Fest Dance on Saturday night. The week was full of fun, special dress days and many activities.

The week started on Monday where students could wear a shirt from their middle school. I wore my old Holy Family track sweatshirt and my “Mathletes” shirt. I always loved wearing the middle school shirts because it brought me a little closer to my middle school friends that I drifted away from in high school. Even with just a look and a smile, it was like we were back at Holy Family for a moment.

Tuesday was “Tundra Sweater Tuesday,” and anyone who purchased a bracelet could wear a “crazy” sweater. I always love seeing everyone else’s sweaters, ranging from ugly Christmas ones to my bright Packer sweater.

Tuesday was also the day of the chili cook off. Students and faculty could pay $3 for a bowl and could try however many chillis they wanted. They were then allowed to vote for their favorites. Winners then received gift cards for their winning chilis.

Wednesday was “Cinematic Fandom Day.” Students were allowed to wear a t-shirt that supported a certain movie or dress up as a character from one of the movies. Two of my friends and I went to Walmart on Sunday night and bought some matching superhero t-shirts to wear on this day. Dress up days like this are my favorite because you get to see how people portray their character and in what unique ways.

Thursday students could wear shirts that supported a Green Bay Sports team. I assumed most people would wear Packer apparel or Notre Dame apparel, but I was glad to see people branching out into the Green Bay Gamblers, the Green Bay Blizzard and local colleges.

Friday was Battle of the Blocks Day. Frau Laaksonen, Sra. Dory and students like myself had been working on BOTB since the beginning of the year, and it was amazing to see the final product of all our hard work. I was also in the opening dance and had so much fun learning it and performing it. Students were also able to wear their block’s color. I was so happy to see this dress-down day back after its not being an option last year. I loved seeing people, who I didn’t know were in my block, in the same color as me.

Saturday morning was Powderpuff. I was so excited that Andrew Gruesen and Frau were able to bring this back. I had so much fun playing freshman year, and I was so glad to see it was brought back. I came in to the games thinking the same thing everyone else was thinking: the seniors were going to win. It seemed like just a known thing that the seniors had “seniority” and would win, just like freshman year.

I was shocked that the junior team and I won, but even if teams didn’t win, it was still so much fun to play football. My brother played football, and my family watched football all the time. Even my parents were happy to see that we brought Powderpuff back.

Fall Fest Week ended with the Fall Fest Dance on Saturday night. I was on the planning committee, and I loved coming up with the underwater theme. As Tritons, we all fit right into the underwater theme.

The dances are always pretty fun to me, but this one wasn’t my favorite. I was pushed around quite a bit on the dance floor and have many bruises on my feet to prove it. My friends and I finally got sick of it and went into the gym to play some basketball.

Fall Fest Week is always so much fun for everyone at Notre Dame. Not only is it fun for the students and faculty, but it also raises money for great charities. This year’s money went to the Jack Washington Wonderful World Fund, which helps students pay for sports fees, personal hygiene products and much more. The fund also gives out one scholarship every year to a high school senior in the area.

We’ve all heard it said many times: Fall Fest is better than Homecoming. Having Fall Fest makes us unique and different from the other schools, but it’s in a good way. It not only benefits us, but it also benefits others in the community.