![At the pepfest on Feb. 13 the Winterfest Royalty nominees were introduced. There were two girls and two boys candidates from each grade. Royalty included Prince Axel Calderon (11), Jacob Miller (12), Princess Maya Fuller (11), Brecken Wacholz (10), Ethan Brownlee (9), Lord Given Saw (9), Lilly Elmer (9), Angela Buansombat (10), Queen Jenna Balfe (12), Hanna Austinson (11), Raegan Broskoff (8), Duchess Evalyn Holcomb (10), Jordyn Earl (8), and Lady Leighton Brenegan (9). Not pictured include: King Kaiden Baldwin-Rutherford (12), Piper Aanes (12), Blair Blake (11), Duke Kuol Duol (10), Thoo Kah (8) and Aidric Calderon (8). Student council member and Junior Prince Axel Calderon said, “It [the nomination] means that I’m kind of a student leader. I hopefully show younger kids what it means to be a part of the student council and lead the school.”](https://www.ahlahasa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/front-page-1200x800.jpeg)
Winterfest Week was Feb. 18-22 and was organized by Albert Lea High School’s Student Council and adviser Therese Netzer. Student council and Netzer have arranged multiple events for this year’s Winterfest, from dress up days to ice skating. Winterfest is a traditional activity, where winter sports and activities are highlighted and celebrated.
“I think our biggest challenge is always ‘What can we do that would get the interest of our diverse group of students?’,” said Netzer. “We have, last I knew, 1200 students, and it’s hard to find things that all of them will love and think are awesome.”
The celebration week began on Thursday, Feb. 13 with an end of day pepfest in the gymnasium. The pepfest was held on Thursday because Friday was an Academy Day, which is new this year for the district calendar. It’s professional development for staff. The pepfest was also moved to the end of the day to accommodate the carnation deliveries from the plant science class fundraiser for Valentine’s Day.
Pepfest was hosted by Student Council President Senior Nevaeh Wacholz and Junior Hanna Austinson. They went over the schedule of events for the week and announced Winterfest royalty nominees for 8-12 grades. The winter cheerleaders performed and the pep band accompanied the entire pepfest.
“I thought that a lot of people enjoyed the dress up days,” said math teacher Kevin Gentz. “ I thought our pepfest was good, and I thought people really enjoyed the volleyball tournament.”
This year’s Winterfest was shortened because of Presidents’ Day and freezing temperatures. Feb. 18 was an eLearning day so students weren’t able to dress up for Twin Tuesday. Students returned to school after a five day break for On Wednesdays We Wear Pink from the movie “Mean Girls”. More than half of the school wore pink. On Thursday, it was Dress Like Your Crush. Both teachers and students participated in this dress up day. Some people were obvious while some others were subtle. Some couples swapped clothes for the day. Senior Bailey Abrego dressed up like a red flag. Social studies teacher Zac Luther took the day literally and wore an Orange Crush t-shirt. Finally, on Friday it was Winter VS. Summer. There were some people in shorts in this cold weather.
“I dressed up all week, my favorite day was Dress Like Your Crush,” said Junior Princess Maya Fuller.
On Friday, classes started on time but were shorter so Field Day could begin at 1 p.m. Students had the option to either stay for the activities or leave the school. Those who left were not able to come back into the school. The Field Day’s main event was a boy’s volleyball tournament. The alternative was the commons where students could play games, study, or visit with friends.
There were a total of eight teams signed up for the volleyball tournament: The Premier Vocal Volleyballers, Aces, RANDY, Sigma 3-Peat, Head of Class, Pokemon Hunters, and Beaters and Bruzz House. Everyone played hard and there were a few conflicts about points. However, it wasn’t serious- the games were just fun. Balls were getting picked up, blocked and spiked. The championship game was between Sigma 3-Peat and Head of Class. Sigma players were Layton Yost (11), Evan Schroeder (12), Ben Schulz (12), Devin Distad (10), Brecken Wacholz (10), Teaghan Tolbers (11) and Federico Rivera (10). Head of Class won, the teacher’s team, 25-23. The team included Harrison Koetz, Zac Luther, Dalton Pagel, Kevin Gentz, Brian Snavely, Sa Taw, Greg Gentle and Lei Htoo.
“I have played volleyball since I was a kid, this is nothing new to me,” said Dean of Students Sa Taw enjoying participating in school spirit.
Concessions were open so students could snack on something while watching the games. The winners of Winterfest Royalty were announced at the volleyball game before the championship match started. Cherry and blue stocking caps were placed on the nominee’s heads instead of crowns.
“I thought it was a neat experience and that it was fun because I was never nominated before,” said Senior Queen Jenna Balfe.
Winterfest concluded on Saturday where students headed to the arena for a night of ice skating. Student council sold tickets for the event during lunches the week before for $5 a person which included skate rentals and admission. Skating was from 7-9 p.m.
“My favorite part of Winterfest was skating and hanging out with my friends,” said Duchess Evalyn Holcomb.