Halloweek: But Make it Virtual
Heleema Saadia (10-3)
Image courtesy of Student Government Association (SGA)
As the leaves turn yellow, orange, and red, the days grow short and dreary. Wispy spider webs, dangling skeletons, and bright, orange pumpkins line front porches. Gusts of wind blow through the trees, causing a ruckus that can be viewed by our window stills. Halloween is upon us, but how will we celebrate while quarantined at home?
Have no fear, virtual Halloweek is here! Organized by the Student Government Association (SGA), the motive of these events is to create a much needed sense of community and to foster holiday spirit. “Maintaining community is more important than ever this year, since we aren’t physically together,” said Nora Stocovaz, an SGA representative.
Nora also commented on the difficulty of organizing a virtual Halloweek: “It was difficult in the first place to come up with things we could do virtually and it required a lot of creative thinking.”
Leading up to Halloweek, Halloween trivia Kahoots will be played in advisory. This will spark friendly competition between the students and will replace the otherwise awkward silence that occurs when the advisor tries to make conversation, but only gets blank stares as a response. Once the week commences on October 26th, there will be a Halloween themed competition planned everyday.
The competitions include a costume contest, door decorating, pumpkin carving, a bingo scavenger hunt, and a candy corn jar guessing game. Students will submit photos of their costume, pumpkin, and/or door decorations to a google form. Once all the submissions have been complied, the student body will get to vote for their favorite for each category. For the bingo scavenger hunt, the students will be encouraged to step outside to find decorated houses and other fall/Halloween themed objects. The first student to get bingo will win. Once this happens, students can still play on to win either the corners or full board categories.
The prizes for these competitions include shoutouts on social media, where much of the outreach to join these events is occurring, and a candy goodie bag filled with everyone’s favorites- candy corn, skittles, and lots of chocolate! For the candy corn guessing game, the winner will win the giant jar of candy corn. Prizes are presumed to be handed out on the Masterman patio on a designated date.
The turnout for these events is expected to be lower this year than previous years because they are virtual. Additionally, in previous years, school periods such as lunch and guidance, were set aside for Halloween themed activities. This is not the case this year. Therefore it is understandable that students may not have the opportunity to attend these events because of homework and out of school commitments. However, it is a great idea to attend at least one event(hint hint bingo) to get a break from school work and to enjoy the spooky spirit.
“I can’t wait for Halloweek,” exclaimed Yulia Emery, a sophomore, “I’m tired of the countless hours of screen time that are required for completing my assignments, I need a break!” Many other students share this sentiment as well. They appreciate the SGA for organizing Halloweek and hope for more community bridging events in the future -whether schools open up or remain virtual.