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Smiling warmly, seniors Magnolia Hance, Ella Steinheider, and Aaron Yuan discuss the previous activity. The squads were tasked on completing multiple puzzles, turning them in for a chance to win squad points.
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With students spectating from behind, Jonathan Chow ’27 battles against fellow orchestra members. The orchestra squad reveal social event was a great chance for members to get together over shared interests and activities.
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Creative paper plates displaying squad names and drawings are spread out on a table after a team-building activity. Squads were tasked to decorate these plates as part of an icebreaker game designed to help everyone get to know their new squad mates.
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Enjoying a snack, Viktor Nguyen ’26 watches members play “Super Smash Bros.” After the initial activities, the event was filled with games and laughter as the orchestra program celebrated the newly formed squads.
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Controllers in hand, seniors Imy Gao and Natalie Ju play against each other. Students cheered on their peers and enjoyed friendly competition as part of the fun social event.
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Smiling, Wilton Jian ’26, Jason Li ’26, Sam Yarbrough ’26, Ethan Sze ’26, and Mikhail Gondogdu ’27 poses for a group picture. Every squad took a group photo together to document the event.
Paper plates scattered across the floor, contact information being exchanged, and the buzz of new friendships forming was the scene at Westwood Orchestra’s annual Squad Reveal on Friday, Sept. 26. As students set aside their instrument for the evening, the focus shifted from musical harmony to building personal connections within the orchestra community.
“Squads are social groups where you fill out a form based on your interests, and you get put in a random group where you do fun games,” Mikhail Gundogdu ‘27 said. “You can do out of school activities with your squad to earn points, so you socialize outside of the orchestra with people in your orchestra.”
The event began with students receiving envelopes containing the names and contact information of their squadmates. Once grouped together, each squad created a unique name and decorated paper plates as part of their team-building activities.
“We wanted to make sure that the squids got to know each other, especially since the school year is so busy,” Orchestra President Aaron Yuan ‘26 said. “We really wanted to make sure to allot them the time to talk to each other and see if they would like to hang out more in the future.”
For many students, this was their first chance to interact with peers from different orchestra classes. The small group sizes, with seven people maximum per squad, ensured meaningful connections could form.
“[Squads] helps facilitate social activity between people in orchestra who often don’t talk to each other that much because we’re just rehearsing all the time,” Sam Yarbrough ‘26 said. “By the end of the event, you’ll know each other’s names.”
Throughout the year, squads will earn points by completing challenges and participating in seasonal activities. From haunted houses during Halloween to other holiday-themed events. The paper plates decorated during the reveal will be displayed on the podium, tracking each squad progress toward the grand prize.
“The main goal of the program is to make sure that we have a strong sense of community inside and outside of the orchestra,” Yuan said. “I think squads is a really great program. It’s something we’ve continued every single year.”
![Gazing into the audience, Wes Autry ’26 as Mr. DePinna poses like the Discus Thrower as Mayla Montgomery ’26 as Penny Sycamore paints him. Mr. DePinna was especially absurd, requiring intense amounts of committment from Autry and resulting in an All-Star Cast honor at competiton. “I never expected anything like that,” Autry said. “[This is] the first year I’ve ever gone to UIL, and winning an award from it is gratifying. It’s something I never thought I would achieve, and so achieving that makes me feel like everything I’ve done here wasn’t pointless.”](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-3.28.43-PM-1200x799.png)
