Schools celebrate fall, Halloween in different ways

Published 11:51 pm Saturday, October 27, 2007

It’s almost time for the Great Pumpkin, and little ghosts and goblins are making their rounds at local schools. While some parents might prefer their children not take part in Halloween activities, schools continue to celebrate the season in various ways, even though they might not use the word “Halloween.”

Dalton’s Brookwood School plans to hold a “mask parade” on Wednesday, Halloween day, according to kindergarten teacher Helen Otero.

“We sent a letter to parents two weeks ago describing this family project,” Otero said. “Parents work at home with their children to create masks made from paper plates. The children will parade around the school on the morning of Oct. 31. It’s really cute. We did it last year and it was great. Some parents go overboard. Some do it really simple.”

Otero said educators are usually told not to have too many parties during school time, since instruction comes first. So the activities are tied into the standards required by the curriculum.

“We’ve made bats using shapes like squares, diamonds, ovals, that we are learning from math. We’ve studied nocturnal animals like bats and spiders,” Otero said. “We made a huge skeleton from toilet paper rolls and labeled the parts of the body. Whatever we do is tied to science or math. It’s instructional. We’ve also done writing exercises. Everybody loves it.”

The school has also planned a party in the cafeteria that will include several stations of storytelling and crafts.

“The kids will make a snack in the shape of a spider and then eat it. We’ll have goodie bags for them provided by the school and our parents. The party will last about 40 minutes of the day for kindergartners. They’re crazy about it,” Otero said. “No parents have told me this year they don’t want their children to participate, but that happens sometimes. It did last year. But we’re not calling it Halloween. I guess that helps. It sounds better for those who don’t want their children celebrating it.”

Varnell Elementary celebrated its annual “V-Fest” last month. Judy Payne, a 36-year veteran teacher and the event’s organizer, said it originated in 2001, just after the 9/11 tragedy.

“We planned it similarly to a Winterfest we’d seen in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Dr. (Ellen) Thompson (the school’s principal) said we could do it as an outreach at a time we were first experiencing an influx of Hispanic students,” Payne said. “We wanted them to feel welcome. We’d had Fall Harvest in the past, but V-Fest was wonderful. We had more than 200 people the first year and about 500 this year.”

“V-fest” features an assortment of Hispanic and American foods and entertainment such as the Teresa Sosa Mexican folk dancers and regional dancers doing ballet, tap, hip hop and clogging. Varnell art students tie-dye socks and paint buckets. The proceeds from the event go toward the school’s music program and for school beautification.

“It’s a great time for bonding, community unity and better understanding other cultures,” Payne said. “We plan to hold it at the first of October next year and add pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples and some more. It’s been a great thing.”

At Chatsworth Elementary in Murray County, the fall festival was Saturday and featured a petting zoo, pony rides and train rides. Students enjoyed a costume contest, cake walk, inflatable slides, pumpkin decorating and a haunted house. The day was organized by Carol and Rusty Lingerfelt of the Chatsworth Elementary PTO.

At the high school level, dressing in costumes is forbidden during the school day, said Carolyn Towns, principal of Northwest High in Whitfield County.

“We don’t allow dressing in costume during the school day. It can be disruptive to the learning environment,” Towns said. “We may occasionally have a spirit day, something that promotes what we’re about. We just want to make sure we keep our minds on instruction.”

Towns brought the “Backyard Bash” to the school Thursday night, with this year’s theme “Monster Bash.” The Bash featured a haunted house for high school students, face painting, carnival games, food booths and more — and students were encouraged to wear costumes for that event.

“It’s a fundraiser for our marketing program,” said Towns, who started the Bash when she came to Northwest four years ago. “It’s like the Riverbend Reunion at Southeast (High). It brings our feeder schools and our community together. It’s a way for us all to be together and enjoy the community on the Thursday before the Homecoming game.”