Once every year, overnight the hallways of the school are transformed into a snowy holiday wonderland. Behind the magic is the freshman class.

The freshman class, with assistance from their families, decorates the windows of the school with paintings of winter-related images such as snowy landscapes and holiday icons. The window painting always occurs the day after Thanksgiving break. This year, window painting occured on the 27th of November. Each 9th grade student was assigned a window in the school to decorate. Windows painted include the administrative hallway, main entrance hallway, cafeteria windows, and the windows in the front alcove.

Though the tradition of window painting is a long-standing one, its origins are unknown. “We don’t know who started it,” freshman Grade Head and English teacher Cory Zeller said. Still, Zeller enjoys the tradition of window painting. “I think it’s lovely to have everyone’s families here interacting with each other.” In addition to the social aspect of window painting, Zeller sees the window painting as the 9th grade’s gift to the school. “It’s so fun to walk in the next day and see all of the little kid’s faces because they get surprised … it’s this wonderful magic that happens in the school, which I love.”

According to science teacher and freshman Grade Head Ryan Zaremba, the logistical details regarding the window painting event is a collaborative effort between the freshman Grade Heads and grade Parent Chairs.“It’s technically run by the parent chairs,” Zaremba said, “but the 9th grade Grade Heads are the ones that do all the frontloading and preparing.”

Ninth grade Parent Chairs include Leslie Glazier, Hilary Kaden, Veronica Ozbeck, Gail Rodman, and Sasha Earle. According to Earle, the parent chairs organized the event by buying supplies, sending out invitations, recruiting volunteers, and working with the Parker cafeteria staff to provide food for the event. Earle loves the idea of the window painting and sees it as a great tradition. “I think it’s great to ask families to create something together that they can give back to the community,” Earle said.

Like Earle, Zaremba enjoys the social and communal feel of the window painting tradition. “It’s nice to see the kids interact with their families in a light-hearted, fun environment,” he said. “It feels like we are all part of this one community and working towards this one goal, which is making the school more festive for the holidays.” During two hours of window painting, parents and students worked alongside both lifelong and new friends, eating pizza and bonding over the work of decorating the school.

Students are expected to invite family members and friends to paint with them. Students can also request to be placed next to a friend for the purpose of creating a double window, a painting with a collaborative design. Freshman Julie Test collaborated with two friends on a three window painting of Navy Pier. “It was tiring but fun and it was fun spending time with friends and doing this activity,” Test said. “I had a good time.”

Many students and parents alike enjoyed the experience. “It was wonderful to work together as a family,” parent Melissa Dennis said. “It was great to see all the families come together to create their own masterpieces. Our family had a blast!”

This festivity is felt by many members of the school community, from lower and intermediate school students to high schoolers to faculty and staff. “I personally just really like it. I think it’s cute,” Admissions Coordinator Stacey Huynh said, who works in the administrative hallway.

Huynh says that she likes to point out the art to prospective families visiting Parker for the first time, as it shows the type of community Parker is. Huynh also enjoys the addition of art to Parker, but does note the obstruction it causes to the offices in the administrative hallway. “It is harder to see people passing by and say hi to them unless the door is open,” Huynh said. “But other than that I do like the fact that there is more art.” Huynh says she looks forward to seeing what designs next year’s window painting will bring.