Cool fall air breezes into campus as the junior class prepares for the Great Junior Bake Off. The Faux Final Friday Fall Festival took place Thursday, Nov. 16, in the courtyard. There were baked goods, music, dancing and autumnal decorations at every turn.

Junior Echo Meadows hangs up a “happy fall” banner above her mentorship’s table. Junior Student Council representatives Francie Wallack, Tavi Memoli and Rachel Chung planned the bake-off as a friendly competition with incentives. “We are calling it the Great Junior Bake Off,” Wallack said. “We want to promote community and bonding in our grade, so we’ve paired mentorships that will contribute to the desserts.”

Juniors Katie Borris and Annie Altemus prepare a hot chocolate station for their mentorship’s table. All of the 11th grade mentorships were separated into four table groups, each with a unique set of desserts and drinks to sell. The table that was scored the highest by judges received a free treat from Starbucks courtesy of the representatives.

Wallack sells tickets to Violet Broock (’29). In order to purchase an item from one of the tables, students had to first purchase tickets with their One Cards. After leaving the ticket table, the juniors advertised their desserts to the students, attempting to secure their business before the other tables had a chance.

An array of desserts is laid out on the table representing the mentorships of Head of Scholastic Journalism Kristin Taylor and Science teacher Tara Renner. Many of the desserts were fall-themed. Goods could be store bought or homemade. “For preparation, we had a bunch of peer mentorship meetings to communicate about the bake sale,” Wallack said. “We were sending out reminders to be organized and have decorations for the tables. And then we sent out an email to the community and put up posters to remind everyone to come to the courtyard.”

Wearing a poster with their table’s menu, Simonne McDavid (’25) stands in front of her mentorship’s table. Planning for the event began at the Student Council Retreat over the summer. Junior Hayden Seid spent the fest promoting her table to students. “It’s really fun to engage in a gradewide competition,” Seid said. “It brings all of us closer together.”

While tuning her guitar, Sylvie Hacker (’26) prepares her microphones to perform for the festival. The Music Leadership Team held a Song Share in which students could sign up to sing original songs or covers for fest-goers. The juniors provided picnic blankets for students to eat and drink on while enjoying the live performances.

World Language Department Chair and Fall Fest dessert judge Travis Nesbitt takes notes as Sophia Shin (’25) talks about her homemade apple tarts. A few faculty members judged the four tables based on one chosen dessert from each table, and the table with the winning treat also got free Starbucks. “When I’m judging,” Nesbitt said, “I am looking for fall themes, tastiness, originality and appeal.”

Laney Maximo (’25) uses a miniature hand-held blow torch to roast the toppings on cupcakes. No two tables at the bake off were alike, and teams had to use creativity in order to gain approval from the judges.

Siena Fantini (’27) sings to the audience in the courtyard. Students could submit any acoustic songs, and many performed in pairs. “We decided to partner with [Music Leadership],” Wallack said. “We thought it could be fun and festive to have live music.” 

Olivia Hallinan-Gan (’26), Anna Entin (’24), Sophia Landers (’24), Alex Martin (’24) and Maya Bell (’27) dance to one of the Song Share performances. There were five total performances, including a cover of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” performed by Olivia Broock. “At Archer, we are all sisters,” attendee Sloane Fitzgibbon (’27) said. “It’s nice to support the musicians, junior class and their prom.”

A decorative scarecrow is perched on the top of a tent looking out onto the courtyard. The festival closed after lunch, and students went off to their last to classes before Thanksgiving Break. “It’s fun, and everyone really got into it,” Meadows said. “It’s a nice, friendly competition and a great way to kick off Thanksgiving Break.”