Choate Spirit Week Themes

Deerfield’s rivalry with Choate Rosemary Hall has fueled the Academy's school spirit for over a century. Choate Week, the week leading up to the highly anticipated Choate Day, “no matter what sport you play or what you do, it brings the whole school together for one goal,” said Jarron Crosbie ‘26, this year’s Captain Deerfield.

For each day of Choate Week, students are encouraged to dress up in various themes to support campus morale, and Crosbie observed, “I feel like what changes every year is, honestly the school spirit and how much people buy in, I think this year was one of the best years that our Choate Week has been.” Choate Week’s themes have remained largely consistent throughout the years, with only one thematic change for the 2025-2026 school year. Crosbie explained, “A lot of the themes are themes that have been happening for the past couple of years. I have a little book that … has a lot of the same themes … that were used in 2019. It's kind of like a thing that we reuse a lot.” 

Monday kicked off the week with “rhyme without reason,” a returning theme that allows students to pair up and dress as two unrelated things that rhyme with each other. An example of a rhyme is "lobster" and "boxer," which was used by cheerleaders Ellora Devitre ’26 and Cecelia Cramer ’26.

Tuesday continued with Twin Day, a long-standing theme that has been a part of Choate Week since 2019. On Twin Day, friends would coordinate their outfits to match each other’s, often seen wearing matching hoodies, pajamas, or T-shirts. While some students simply dress in similar clothing and imitate each other's hairstyles and accessories, Sabrina Schulhof ’29 and Stella Goldsmith ’29 dressed up as Oompa Loompas, painting their faces blue and wearing green wigs. 

On Wednesday, students would dress up with their fall co-curriculars, giving them a medium to demonstrate the togetherness and spirit of their co-curriculars. Harmoni Dobbins ‘26, Cheerleader and Varsity Volleyball Captain, explained, “We try to make it something fun, so everyone can have a different character part in the costume.” Crosbie stated, “My favorite theme is always co-curric day… the stuff that I saw from the girls’ teams … were some of the best coordinated outfits that I've seen.” Whether the team is an undefeated varsity sport, at the thirds-level, or an arts program, every co-curricular comes together to buy into their specific team’s outfit. This year, Deerfield’s Varsity Volleyball Team received the best outfit award from the Deerfield Cheerleaders. Crosbie noted, “I think the funniest was definitely the volleyball team and their SpongeBob SquarePants outfits. Those were hilarious.” Dobbins went through the process that captains go through to decide their theme for Choate Week. “We kind of picked the characters off of what that person was like,” she said. Providing a different costume for every team member promotes a sense of belonging, especially for new students. 

Thursday’s theme brought a new change to Choate Week. Traditionally, Thursday has been ‘Generations Day’, where each grade dressed as a different age group, ranging from babies to senior citizens. This year, the Deerfield Cheerleaders introduced a new theme: Pajama Day. Crosbie noted that “this year we decided to switch generation day with PJ day because we felt like sophomores/juniors didn’t really do much as teenagers and adults.” In making this change, the cheerleaders provided an accessible way for students to dress up for Choate Day, offering more opportunities for participation in the themes.

Finally, Friday wrapped up Choate week by returning to traditional class dress in the school colors of green and white. This long-standing Deerfield tradition has remained a staple for generations. Seeing the sea of green and white across campus is a reminder that Choate Week is not purely about competition and our hatred for Choate, it is also about creating a unified student body through these themes. Choate Week defines Deerfield’s school spirit and community, and serves as motivation to beat them the day after.