The Falcon Flyer

We are continuously working to keep the school environment safe and fun for everyone, including during the Halloween season. Every year, we get questions and complaints on costumes being "too scary." We want Halloween to be a holiday that is fun for all! And certainly, we want the school environment to be viewed as safe for all kids. Is some of this open to interpretation and subjectivity? Absolutely. We fully recognize that everyone has different degrees of sensitivity to the "scariness" of a Halloween costume. The school will have the final say if a costume is appropriate for the school environment. Here are our general guidelines for costumes in terms of scariness for West Burlington Elementary:

1. Students may come to school wearing their costumes. There will only be a few minutes for students to put a costume on over their clothes or add a mask before the party/parade. Costumes MUST allow for a normal day's activity (sitting at classroom desks/tables, using the restroom, recess, gym, etc.)

2. No full face painting will be allowed. However students can have "limited" makeup like whiskers, freckles, eye make up, etc. This must be done at home before school.

3. Masks, hats and crowns will be allowed during the parade.

4. Costumes must not be too scary or inappropriate for the school environment. Those include:

• No gory or grotesque costumes that have lots of blood and guts.

• No characters from horror movies (Freddie, Jason, Ghostface, Chucky, Pennywise, etc. )

5. No props are allowed. (Ex. swords, weapons, wands, etc.)

6. The school is not responsible for costumes that are torn or damaged while at school. Parents are encouraged to remember that students at school can be very physical during recess and PE.

7. Students must wear shoes or slippers. (Make sure you have appropriate shoes for PE.)

8. Students who come to school wearing something inappropriate, will have to call home for new clothing.

9. Costumes should not interfere with the ability of a student to go to the bathroom by themselves.

10. Participation is optional for students. If your family wishes to not participate in the Halloween costumes or parties, please communicate that with your child's teacher.

We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 30th.

There will be a short parade on the front lawn around 3:00 p.m. Parents are welcome to join us on the front lawn ONLY if they would like to see the costume parade. We will come around the front of the school by the preschool entrance and head north on the sidewalk toward the parking lot, walking down the parking lot to the back playground area.