As a kid, there was nothing quite like the Halloween-themed crafts and celebrations that my elementary school planned.
Sure, most of the time at least half of my peers didn’t want to be there—it was Halloween after all—but with the creepy pop tunes and fun games, I knew that I would at least have fun dressed up as my favorite book character, a much needed break from grueling long division.
All that sweetness had to come to an end eventually, and what was once a whole day of Halloween games turned into a smaller section of the day for fun activities, which then faded into absolutely nothing. Classes got more difficult, grades became more and more important, and no one had time to even mention the holiday.
Unfortunately, this year, Halloween fell on a Tuesday in the week right after Homecoming. The school was still adjusting and cleaning up all the sparkles and decorations from the dance three days prior, so naturally, Halloween fun was not the priority. Additionally, the second quarter is always more packed and tightly scheduled than other quarters due to holiday breaks and testing.
October is a very busy month for the Leadership club to organize events for, with Pink Out and Homecoming, and the school doesn’t typically do much of anything for Halloween anyways, so why would they start now?
Just because you’ve always done something one way, doesn’t mean that should be the expected. School is difficult and time-consuming, and it is the job of students to try their best in all their classes, however, it is also extremely important that teens get to have fun during these years. Life can be stressful, and sometimes taking a day off to dress up and eat some sugary treats is exactly what you need.
Last year, the senior class organized a Trunk or Treat for younger kids, which in turn gave clubs a way to show off their creativity with decorations, but no weekend was available this year for the activity. It’s still too soon to say how next year will turn out in terms of scheduling and Homecoming, but putting an emphasis on events such as Trunk or Treat would be a great way to celebrate.
“I thought that was a fun tradition that I would like to see continued, and depending on scheduling, I will bring it back.” Leadership teacher Kari Miller said. “The younger kids see the Hagerty kids as kind of their heroes. They really look up to the high school kids.”
This school year might have ended the spooky season with a whimper, but at the end of the day, it isn’t a poorly planned party—it’s school.
There are a few solutions that can hopefully save the spirit of Halloween. For starters, the school should encourage dressing up more, and make an announcement on the intercom. If there is more of a conversation surrounding what people are wearing and how they are celebrating, it can spark more of a desire to participate in the holiday.
“I dressed up, but if the school could encourage dressing up more, that would be fun,” freshman Amalia Sego said.
Alternately, the school could have teachers and staff pass out candy, at least once during break. The husky pup preschoolers are allowed to go trick-or-treating around the school, so why not students as well? Sure, teachers probably aren’t jumping at the opportunity to give their students more candy, especially if that means they’ll be hearing the effects of a sugar high, but class periods are already long and tiring, so it could be a great pick-me-up.
Another smaller solution could be a costume contest on the announcements and Woof TV. School policies would still be followed, of course, making sure that no one’s identities were hidden by masks, and that costumes were school appropriate, but some recognition would be fun for everyone.
At the end of the day, even though high school is extremely important, students should be able to celebrate and enjoy their time, before they have even more responsibilities. Let teens be teens, one day of celebration won’t hurt anyone.
