The Pace Advisory: Dollar Tree Secret Snowflake & Annual Pace Pumpkin Painting Contest
Every year, around December, the Pace advisory rushes to the dollar store to partake in their iconic Dollar Tree secret snowflake tradition. Each advisee is assigned another, and they are given a fixed budget. “We don’t have much time to agonize over whether people will like it or not, so it just ends up being that people get really, really random things,” Kira A. ’27 remembers. How random, exactly? “Last year, I got a bottle of bleach. There were also several tiki torches last year, and two bottles of fabric softener.”
The tradition started when the current advisory was in their freshman year. “We met out behind St. Nicks and ran to the dollar store, and then we were almost all late for fifth period,” Ms. Pace, who organizes the secret snowflake dash, recalls. Though chaotically rushing back to class with gifts in her arms was stressful in the moment, it later became one of her favorite memories. That day, one of the Pace advisory’s most beloved and memorable traditions was born.
This year also marked their inaugural Pace Pumpkin Painting Pageant Contest, where advisees compete to paint the best pumpkin possible. Additionally, the Pace advisory holds an annual hula hoop contest, pizza parties, and movie-watching sessions. How does Ms. Pace manage it all? “I just like to think about all of the ways in which we can do things to be connected with each other,” she says. “I think that is such an important part of advisory.”
The Erickson Advisory: Annual Fall Apple Tasting
In the Erickson advisory room, the table is crowded with colorful bowls, each holding glistening slices of apples. The advisees gather around the table, grading sheet in one hand, apples in the other. “Honeycrisp is popular for a reason,” one student says. “That apple is watery! It’s soulless,” another protests vehemently. This is the annual Erickson advisory apple tasting, a tradition that turns heated but is entertaining nonetheless.
Every fall, Ms. Erickson sorts different varieties of apples into distinctly colored bowls, unlabeled. Each advisee then blind tastes the apples and ranks them. The experience is a whirl of flavors and impassioned debate. “I don’t even associate the apples with names anymore,” Sachi T. ’26 muses.
This year’s apples, they admit, are a bit lackluster. “Last year, we had one clear winner — one that really wowed. [This year], we had a clear loser,” Sachi declares. The infamous Kissabel apples lost by a large margin.
“I don’t have a real criteria — mostly, I go by vibes, but if there’s one that’s particularly sweet or crunchy, those are the ones I usually like,” Sachi comments on her apple rating methodology. For her, the differences in palate and the conception of what makes a “good” apple are what make the experience enjoyable. “It’s not deep or serious, but it’s a nice tradition to look forward to in the fall. We just have fun trying different apples, laughing at people’s tastes, and joking around.”
The apple tasting is a long-standing tradition, though the past few years have been particularly exciting. “I’ve never had another advisory as into [the apple tasting] as this one,” Ms. Erickson says. The tradition is also a zero-waste one—after the apple tasting is over, Ms. Erickson takes the leftover apples and brings them home to make delicious apple crisps.
The Brau/Nan Advisory: Manifesting Snow Days
In the cramped room of the greenhouse, the Brau/Nan advisory sits in a tight circle of chairs, cutting away at their pieces of paper. It seems odd that something as simple as paper snowflakes could have them so captivated, but they remain hard at work, clipping up intricate Star Wars-inspired designs. One student holds up the delicate wings of an X-wing, while another works an intricate pattern of holes into a stormtrooper face.
For the Brau/Nan advisory, December rolls around with a flurry of paper snowflakes. The cozy, warm greenhouse in Bliss Hall that the advisory calls their home is transformed into a wintry wonderland, with paper snowflakes pasted all over their green glass ceiling.
In addition to decorating the greenhouse for the winter, this ritual also serves as a beacon of hope for an imminent snow day. “We have a success rate of 100%,” Ana M. ’27 recalls, stating that the manifestation worked both times in the past two years they have celebrated the tradition. “With climate change, there is kind of a conspiracy idea that we should glorify sunny weather, but it’s nice to embrace the different variety of seasons.”
For the Brau/Nan advisory, the tradition is a way to bond over a shared experience — the excitement of a snow day and the subsequent break from the rigor of school. “All advisories should get some kind of tradition, because it brings you something to look forward to,” Ana recommends.
