“The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and the mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween.”
—Paula Guran
At Keystone, Halloween is one of the most fun days of the year. We love to see the clever and often thoughtful costumes our students create, and some of our faculty truly go all out in their outfits. In all our divisions, we pause, take time to be a little silly and play. Beyond the sweets and dressing up, Halloween allows us to celebrate our community. Parents of younger children bring treats and help with parties, while older students bond over shared events and competition. It’s a day that helps us remember the communal element that makes this place special.
One of the joys of being a PK3-Grade 12 school is seeing children of different ages celebrating holidays in their own ways. In addition, the child comes out in the adults which makes the day all the more enjoyable. In the Little School, Ms. Dena says, “The parents have as much fun as the students on Halloween Day. They dress up, volunteer to work craft stations, and cheer on the little ones as they parade around the trike track of the playground dancing to spooky Halloween music.”
Students dress in costumes and rotate to eight different Halloween-themed craft stations and have a pumpkin parade. “It’s a nice way to build community and have families on campus,” she says. Throughout October, our youngest Cobras participate in several Halloween-themed activities. Among them:
- Science experiments that include flying ghosts (static electricity), exploding pumpkins, dry ice experiments, and sensory bins
- Math – counting pumpkin seeds, sorting and graphing
- Language Arts – reading lots of books on Autumn, Pumpkins, journal writing & illustrations
- Dramatic Play – Fall pumpkin patches in each classroom and dress up clothes
- Investigating Pumpkins – size, shape, color, feeling the gooey inside
- Compare and contrast lessons & diagrams with bats, cats & owls
- A tarantula will spend 2 weeks at Pre-K visiting from Region 20’s Living Science Program
Meanwhile in the Lower School, the highlight of the day comes early, with the annual Halloween parade through campus. The Lower School students are adorable and the cheering and support from parents, along with Middle and Upper School students, makes the parade truly special.
After the parade, explains Ms. Matthews, students continue the celebrations with “a division-wide Halloween dance party in the gym along with classroom celebrations and other buddy groups meet for a special activity.”
In middle school, students compete in fun Halloween-themed activities throughout the quad and sport court. Competitions include: the eyeball catapult, a witches’ hat Velcro ball toss, an eyeball relay race, and a candy corn ring toss. There’s also a costume competition during lunch. A panel of judges evaluate the costumes according to the following categories: original, silliest, and best group. Judges look for creativity, execution, detail, and presentation. Those that don’t compete cheer on their friends and enjoy the show!
Upper School brings an opportunity for classes to compete against each other in lots of good-natured fun. Head of Upper School Bill Spedding calls the day “a major event full of creativity and bonding.”
“Each grade creates a short 4-5 minute funny, spooky film that is screened to the entire Upper School and judged by a faculty committee. Every grade also has a cohort that competes in a choreographed dance judged by faculty members, and plans a coordinated classwide costume,” Mr. Spedding says. “Other competitions include 3 legged races and scooter races, while those artistically inclined bake elaborate cakes or carve pumpkins for judging.”
The winning class earns a catered lunch and coveted Spirit War points.
By the end of the day, we are all tired, but it’s a good fatigue. In addition, children are psyched and prepped for an evening of trick or treating. Don’t get me wrong-the candy is delectable and the costumes are a hoot. But more importantly on this day, students of all ages, faculty/staff members, and parents have engaged in community building and being in partnership with one another to celebrate. It’s one of those days where we take a breather; while there’s still academic work to be done, we focus on enjoying the creativity and closeness that also make Keystone such an exceptional school.
