Halloween 2021

Grade 4 Door.

K-9 classes spent the last week of October decorating their doors for the annual Halloween Door Decorating Contest.  The winning classes would be selected and announced at the Halloween assembly on Friday, October 29.  The prizes were class pizza parties funded by the school.  To make the contest fair, the classes were organized into three competing groups: K-2, 3-6, and 7-9.  High school students weren’t interested for some reason.  There’s always next year. 

I didn’t have time to decorate my door because I was preparing a drum concert for the assembly.  The high school drumline has been the opening act since I started the program in 2013.  Three marching cadences would be played as a group, followed by voluntary solos.  This year I decided to play two solos.  I spent a lot of time after school thinking, practicing, changing rhythms, and practicing again.  Thankfully, my perfectionism didn’t get the best of me, and I was satisfied by what I prepared the day before the assembly.

Grade 2 Door.

Grade 7 Door.

Drift

My search for a Halloween costume began in late August.  I buy a new costume each year and let high school students wear my old ones if they don’t have a costume to wear.  I finally settled on my ninth costume in early September and ordered it from Spirit Halloween.  I would dress up as Drift from the popular video game Fortnite: Battle Royale.  I don’t play Fortnite; I just know about it and the costume was the only one I liked.  I bought the vest, mask, gloves, and cape.  Everything arrived just in time.  The costume is very bright and colourful.  And it's easy to breathe with the mask on!

Grade 8 Door.

Friday, October 29, was a fun day.  I don’t think any school work was done because Halloween was on everyone’s minds.  I walked from one end of the school to the other, photographing all the decorated doors.  Students & teachers did excellent jobs.  The decorating styles ranged from minimalist to detailed.  The three chosen judges spent the late morning examining each door, debating, and then writing down their choices.

Lunchtime was extended to 90 minutes to give everyone time to eat and change into their costumes.  A co-worker helped me bring all my costumes to school.  Thank you.  I changed into my Drift outfit after eating lunch and immediately went to work moving drums & equipment down to the gym.  I also set up a table and three chairs for the judges.  They would also be judging the costume contest.  (More on that coming up).  A few teachers came downstairs to set up the portable sound system.  The gym was ready by 1:30pm.

Grade 6 Door.

My costume was a hit.  I think it was because of the brightly coloured cape . . . and maybe the mask.  Whatever the reason(s), students, parents, and teachers stopped and looked as I walked by.  I’ll definitely be keeping this costume.  Most of the teachers were wearing costumes too.

Everyone assembled in the gym at 1:45pm.  Facemasks were mandatory.  People who were wearing costume masks were excepted.  The principal and vice-principal welcomed everyone to the assembly and called on me to begin the festivities with music. 

I and a former high school drummer played three cadences as a duet.  Then he played a solo on the quad toms.  I finished the concert with my two solos.  The first one was on the quad toms and the second was on two quad toms and a snare drum.  I had the drums placed in a U-shape so that I could stand in the middle and easily hit them.  Everyone appreciated the music and gave us an extended applause.  I was relieved that we were well received.

Preschool.

Kindergarten

The drums were moved to the back of the gym and the assembly continued with the costume contest.  Each class walked around the centre of the gym, showing off their costumes, and hoping to be picked by the judges.  The teachers participated as well.  The winners were called up to have their pictures taken and receive a $25 Co-op gift card.  The two classes who won the door decorating contest were: Grades 2, 4, and 7.

Teachers and students returned to their classes to play games for the remainder of the day.  Each class received a large bag of candy from the main office.  I spent my time putting the drums away and helping with the cleanup of the gym.  I collected and packed my old costumes that were worn by students.  A co-worker drove me home after school.

I cancelled cadets for the weekend because the festivities were not over.

The annual community ugliest costume contest was held in the afternoon on Saturday, October 30.  Just like last year, the contest was held outside the community hall because of COVID-19 restrictions.  A circle of chairs had been set up for participants and spectators.  Two parachutes were also taped over the side of the metal porch to provide a colourful curtain background.  Participants and spectators began arriving at 3pm.

Participants make their costumes from whatever they can find at home.  My photographs can do a better job describing the costumes I saw.  The object of the contest may be to create the ugliest costume, but most of the time, the costumes end up being more funny than ugly.  Two costume entries were actually worn by two pairs of people.  It made sitting on chairs a challenge for them.  This happens sometimes; two people wear one costume.  If they win a prize, they split the reward money. 

The contest began at 3:30pm.  The emcee called on contestants aged 12 & under to stand up and walk around in a circle.  Dance music played, people filmed & took pictures, and the judges . . . judged.  The young contestants circled three times.  They all had large number tags taped on their backs because their faces were hidden behind masks.  Part of the contest is keeping your identity hidden until the end.

The second group was the 13 & over contestants.  They did the same thing: walk around in a large circle, show off their ugly/funny creations, and hope they would be picked by the judges.  They also had large number tags taped on their backs.  They returned to their seats when the music was stopped.

Three winners were selected from both groups (3^rd place, 2^nd place, 1^st place).  Each winner came to the front and removed their facemask to reveal their identities.  Then they received their cash prize.  The lucky winners were all smiling for being chosen.

The community had decided to hold trick-or-treating on October 30 instead of October 31.  When the costume contest ended, everyone raced home to get ready to hand out candy.  I quickly changed into my Drift costume and placed all my Halloween candy close to the door.  I opened a few boxes & bags and dumped the sweet contents into two large bowls to make distribution easier.  I unlocked the front door, then sat and waited for trick-or-treaters to arrive.

They began to arrive at 5pm.  They came steadily and sometimes in large groups.  Some were surprised to see me in costume.  Several little kids were too scared to come near me so I had to give their candy to their parents.  I also offered candy to parents; it was free and they deserved a reward for supervising their children.  I handed out 4 pieces of candy per person and then later increased it to 5 pieces. 

The weather is quite cold at the end of October, so trick-or-treaters rely on parents & relatives to take them to houses by car, truck, atv, or skidoo.  Walking to each house would take too long and result in frostbite.       

Trick-or-treating ended at 7pm. 

October 31 was a quiet Sunday.