Welcome Back Banquet

Staff returning to the hillside barely had a moment to catch their breath - the Staff Social Committee organized a Welcome Back Banquet for the staff on the evening of July 27th, the first day of the staff retreat/preparation week. The banquet was held in the Quad Dining Hall and the organizing committee took inspiration from the wilderness to design a 'Jungle' theme for the night.

Staff old and new came with their families to greet old friends and meet new ones. The Quad area was soon filled with the sharpest and most glamorous of outfits - the colourful gathering even saw staff dressed in cultural Indian, Tibetan, and Japanese attire.

Before dinner, the staff were entertained by Ben Lall, who MCed the evenings events, with musical assistance by Pete Wildman. Staff members were divided by table for Ben and Pete to initiate games such as 'Pockets, Purses, and Wallets', the winner of which was finally determined by the owner of the 'funkiest umbrella', won by Jill Koop Liechty. The staff sang and swayed along to jingles led by the MCing duo, including their 'Woodstock Remix' version of '8 Days a Week!'

Dinner was followed by the 'Paper Plane' challenge, which was won by Anil Jain's expertly engineered flying machine that went the furthest distance. The evening concluded with more singing and interaction and the staff went home pleasantly prepared to face the upcoming semester.