On Friday, September 5th, students, teachers, and families gathered on the Quad for a new event hosted by the Student Activities Association (SAA): Quadchella. The event offered games, a food cart with popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones, and stations for t-shirt decorating, glitter, photobooths, and temporary tattoos. Over the course of the evening, the bands The Undecided, Cenier Street Swingers, and Clockwork Boston performed for the crowd.
Multiple factors forced the change from the traditional start-of-school Quadival to Quadchella. Kelly Reiser, Director of Student Activities, identified a shrinking carnival-industry workforce, scheduling conflicts, and budgetary constraints as major considerations. The South Shore carnival company typically contracted for Quadival faced workforce shortages, which only compounded the ongoing challenge of scheduling Friday night events with the company. When SAA realized that a partnership with the regular company would no longer be possible, they explored other companies. However, Reiser explained, “the other carnival companies were just so incredibly expensive that it just wasn’t falling in the budget at all.”
Though Reiser’s office is critical to implementing student programming decisions, SAA leads on brainstorming. When it became clear that Quadival was no longer possible, the board began considering other options. SAA member Rhia Patel ‘26 said that planning began last spring. SAA cohead Elizabeth de Ramel ‘26 added that the group remained positive: “We can’t do anything about it.”
SAA members had clear priorities for Quadchella. First, they hoped to design a flagship event for the first weekend of school centering on the theme of what Reiser described as “connect and reconnect.” De Ramel expressed that the event was crucial because “it shows the new students what we are doing [and] how excited [we are] for them to be there.” Another priority, Reiser reported, was to “replicate the vibe and the feelings of Quadival as best as we could…because we know that Quadival was such a special tradition.”
During the planning process, SAA members also attended to factors that might have negatively impacted Quadchella’s success. SAA members paid particular attention to upperclassmen, who frequently struggle to prioritize school events. De Ramel explained, “We have always had a really hard time with upperclassmen attendance, and that's always our big worry.” She also cited conflicting events including team dinners as potential obstacles to attendance.
Student feedback suggests that the event was a success. Isabel Luo ‘29 described “the vibe was so nice [and] everyone had so much fun.” Lyra Dvorin ‘28 echoed this sentiment, explaining she thought the event was “a fun way to reconnect with [her] friends after a summer apart.” However, she did “miss some aspects of Quadival.” Eden O’Rourke ‘26 echoed, “in past years, I had loved the swings ride. I wish there were a way to recreate that for Quadchella.”
When SAA debriefed Quadchella in their most recent meeting, Reiser said they got helpful information about what worked and what could be changed. While they identified positive feedback on the t-shirts and other activities, they noted that the music—the intended highlight of Quadchella—may not have driven students to the event. Avery Gaffney ‘27 noted that the activities and food provided most of the excitement, while the music, though “super cool,” remained a secondary focus.
Board members are eager to bring back Quadival next year and are proud of this fall’s accomplishments. “Quadival has obviously been such an integral part of my Milton experience these past three years, but Quadchella was so amazing and so much fun,” expressed Patel. De Ramel agrees, saying, “It’s exciting being able to have a part in making something new at Milton….and make it a tradition for others.”
As for Quadival's future, Reiser and the board remain cautiously optimistic. When asked about its return, Reiser said, “I’m not promising anything…[but] I think it’s worth discussing.”