Midlands Open House makes a comeback

After four years, the Woodstock tradition of having a dorm Open House finally made a comeback at Midlands.

On Nov. 4, the dorm opened its doors to the entire school. Teachers and students from other dorms were able to have a look at how the girls from grade 10, 11, and 12 lived.

For the event, which started at 3 p.m, the dorm was meticulously decorated, following the themes of fall and Halloween.

Students and teachers were also able to enter the girls’ rooms. When asked about seeing Midlands for the first time from the inside, Swapnil Jhajharia, Class of 2020, said, “It’s not as good as I expected, but it’s still pretty good.”

Mr. Wartho, librarian, said, “It’s really interesting. My wife has never seen a boarding school before.”

Apart from the snack vendors that were called, Midlands’ girls had various stalls of their own, selling hot dogs, waffles, nachos, and even pies.

Several games were arranged for the little children. They also enjoyed a candy pinata.

“It’s very vibrant and lively and it looks like everyone is just chilling and having a great time,” said Mr. Nagarwalla.

“It gives us a new appreciation for how much further Midlands’ girls have to walk to get anywhere,” said Ms. Dyson, laughing.

“It’s amazing. Since it’s our last day living at Midlands, it feels like a goodbye party,” said Mr. Schumacher, who went on to explain how he and his family were moving out of the dorm the very next day.

There was also a rose dedication stall, where students and teachers dedicated roses with little messages, sometimes even anonymously.

When asked of the event, Principal Dr. Long said, “Great people, great atmosphere, great food, great music, great day.” 

The event came to an end after a bonfire and sing-alongs from the seniors, who were making the most out of their last year together.

Reflecting on the event, Mrs. Priya said, “I was really impressed with the way that the entire dorm came together to plan everything together. We worked really hard, especially in the last two days and I think it was spectacular.” Mr. Aditya added, “I think it went really well. It had been so long that we hadn’t done anything and it felt really nice seeing students getting along and doing so much work.” Mrs. Priya and Mr. Aditya run Midlands together.

Mr. Jeffrey Doerfler, Dean of Student Services, said, “I think the girls have done an amazing job. I love the decorations and I hope this leads to a tradition of every dorm having an Open House.”

All photos in this article are taken by the author of this post.