Inspired by the Candy Land board game, Math Teacher Mrs. Jessi Chrystal’s door featured a colorful game-board design complete with a spinning wheel and decorations crafted entirely from materials found on campus. Joy Xu (‘26), one of Mrs. Chrystal’s 12th-grade advisees, described how the group relied entirely on materials already available on campus. “We actually didn’t buy anything,” she said. With access to supplies from the Creative Sciences space, students used construction paper, Velcro, and other materials to bring the Candy Land board game to life, winning them the contest. The decorating process itself became a collaborative effort for the Chrystal advisory. “Ayanna made the spinning wheel, Izzy and I made the trees, Yina made the candy canes, and everyone made their own gingerbread man,” Joy explained. They were determined to win after coming so close the previous year. “It was our last chance to win, and everyone was super excited,” Joy added. And they won — taking first place!
On December 15th at 7:45 p.m., ASB announced the winners of their annual Door Decorating Contest. Math Teacher Mrs. Jesse Chrystal’s senior advisory won first place with a perfect score of 150 points, followed closely by Science Teacher Mrs. Kaitlin Ritsema’s junior advisory with 149. Mrs. Williamson’s senior advisory placed third, while Mrs. Uhland’s sophomore advisory and Math Teacher Mr. Dana Pierce’s advisory tied for fourth with 147 and 141 points, respectively. Let’s take a look at these festive doors!
Inspired by the Candy Land board game, Math Teacher Mrs. Jessi Chrystal’s door featured a colorful game-board design complete with a spinning wheel and decorations crafted entirely from materials found on campus. Joy Xu (‘26), one of Mrs. Chrystal’s 12th-grade advisees, described how the group relied entirely on materials already available on campus. “We actually didn’t buy anything,” she said. With access to supplies from the Creative Sciences space, students used construction paper, Velcro, and other materials to bring the Candy Land board game to life, winning them the contest. The decorating process itself became a collaborative effort for the Chrystal advisory. “Ayanna made the spinning wheel, Izzy and I made the trees, Yina made the candy canes, and everyone made their own gingerbread man,” Joy explained. They were determined to win after coming so close the previous year. “It was our last chance to win, and everyone was super excited,” Joy added. And they won — taking first place! (ASB)
Taking a tropical twist on the holidays, Science Teacher Mrs. Kaitlin Ritsema’s 11th-grade advisory created a beach-themed Christmas door, complete with a video of Santa ziplining across the scene. This collaborative design secured them the second-place prize. Mrs. Ritsema shared that she is “a big fan of having an activity to do together that helps balance more serious enrichments like DEIJ” and that it was “really cool to see everyone doing something and participating.” Inspired by how doors have become more creative each year, she wanted something interactive that added “extra pizazz.” She joked that the judges may be “very lenient with the term ‘door,’” because their display spread across the neighboring wall. For Mrs. Ritsema, this tradition creates space for fun and connection during “such a high-stress time of the year.”
Math Teacher Mrs. Dolores Williamson’s 12th-grade advisory transformed their door into a festive letter to Santa, featuring oversized envelopes and holiday mail addressed straight to the North Pole. Reflecting on the experience and placing third, Advisee Moana Peterson (’26) shared that while their “very competitive advisory was determined to win,” the most meaningful part was spending time together and enjoying the camaraderie. In the end, creating the door side by side and sharing “that sense of community one last time” mattered more to her than the competition itself.Caption: Mr. Dana Pierce’s 10th-grade advisory door paired a classic holiday image with humor, featuring a decorated Christmas tree alongside a Grinch-inspired Mr. Pierce figure personalized with student photos as ornaments. For Advisee Raquel Shterem (’28), the highlight was the collaboration behind it. “We did put a lot of work into it,” she said. “My entire advisory collaborated together.” Raquel noted that the advisory’s creativity played a big role in their final result. “Everyone in my advisory is very artistic,” she explained. Some students even brought in materials from home. “I’m pretty sure Kiran Pelley (‘28) came up with the idea,” she said. Beyond the competition, this project reflected something larger for the Pierce advisory. “This is one of the only times that your advisory really collaborates to try to achieve something special,” Raquel explained. Their door masterpiece was not only creative — it was a clear example of advisory collaboration within the Bishop’s community. The Pierce advisory secured 4th place in the contest, alongside Mrs. Uhland’s Advisory. (ASB)
Modeled after the iconic Home Alone (insert year) movie cover, Spanish Teacher Mrs. Nicole Uhland’s advisory door recreated the scene with student portraits and festive details. According to Livia Li (’28), the project was led by a small group within the advisory. “It was mainly me, Aska, Kainza, Violette, and Abigail doing the door decorating,” she said, noting that “Mrs. Uhland also helped a lot with the idea.” Livia explained that the theme emerged after some initial uncertainty. “At first we were struggling to come up with something,” she said, until Mrs. Uhland found reference images online. Choosing Home Alone felt original, since “we’d never seen this type of door appear in the contest,” Livia explained. For her, the most rewarding moment came at the end. “Taping the letters ‘Home Alone’ on the door was basically the last step,” she said. “Seeing the whiteboard sketches come to life was quite rewarding.” Reflecting on the experience, Livia said the contest was “a great opportunity for each advisory to collaborate on something fun but also competitive.” She added, “I was really proud of our door and really happy we placed.”
Whether your advisory was crafty enough to take a prize home, or simply enjoyed decorating together, this Bishop’s tradition continues to be a bright and festive light during the end of the semester. The Holiday Door Decorating Contest offers us a moment to pause and enjoy our time together, and reminds us that these kinds of relationships remain at the heart of our community and the holiday season.
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