Dark, scary stories, children getting candy, and many more things make up the phenomenon we call Halloween. Everywhere around the country, including TBS, the spooky celebration is a big day not only for kids, but for some adults as well, to dress up and have fun with friends. However, not everyone celebrates this popular holiday.

The Anti-Defamation League, otherwise known as the ADL, has encouraged schools not to let students dress up because it may make students who don’t necessarily celebrate Halloween feel left out. Although the Middle School’s administration didn’t allow students to dress up, according to Head of Middle School Mr. Charles Hagy, it had nothing to do with the ADL’s stance.

“Going back to August, we have been having some issues with cliques on campus, some social exclusion, some social cruelty, so to better support our students in making a healthy decision about what to wear on Halloween, we came up with Buc-O-Ween, which celebrates all the good things about school,” Hagy said.

The first annual Buc-O-Ween was like a Spirit Day as students were able to wear their favorite blue or orange TBS shirts with normal school shorts.

“The purpose of Buc-O-Ween was to celebrate Halloween with a Buccaneer style, so that means taking what you normally wear on a spirit day but making it more Halloween themed,” said Dean of Academics Mr. Charles Maddox.

Along with the different clothing, TBS added games like giant Jenga, cornhole, and even let students play soccer on the field during lunch. After all of this, English Department Chair Mrs. Kathleen Devine brought in a special treat for students: several sheet cakes.

“I think [the games were] great,” said seventh grader Robert Letsche. “I think it’s fun to do so you’re not always doing school and can do fun things.”

Still, some students would have preferred to dress up instead of having Buc-O-Ween.

“[Not dressing up] is kind of boring,” said eighth grader Alex Bories. [because] we can’t be like ‘Hey, that’s a cool costume.’”

Others were happy either way.

“I think wearing costumes and [having Buc-O-Ween] would be about the same,” said sixth grader Jack Wahl-Cox. “I think it would bring the same amount of excitement,” he said.

One aspect that wasn’t new this year was the  annual pumpkin challenge. In its tenth year, it’s a contest where each advisory must decorate (without puncturing or carving) a pumpkin according to the theme given by the School. This year’s theme was Disney, and the pumpkins were displayed in the quad on Halloween during long advisory and lunch so students and teachers could see each other’s work.  

“It is a great way for advisory groups to work together to create a project that everyone can enjoy,” said Student Services Counselor Ms. Danielle Benvenuto, who organizes the pumpkin challenge each year. “It is a nice way for students to celebrate Halloween in the Middle School.”

Sixth-grade student Chester Coles agreed with Benvenuto.

“I love the pumpkin challenge because it is a great way to get to know your advisory members, and it’s also really fun to see how creative everyone is and how they all [take] part in making it,” Coles said.

The top three winners for each grade are selected by an anonymous and different faculty member each year, who acts as judge. Here are a list of this year’s winners:

Sixth Grade:

3rd Place: Mr. Taylor’s advisory (Chewbacca)

2nd Place: Mrs. Sukhu’s advisory (Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast)

1st Place: Ms. Lazarus’ advisory (Winnie The Pooh)

Seventh Grade:

3rd Place: Mr. Ginnetty’s advisory (Stitch)

2nd Place: Ms. Latimer’s advisory (Hank the Octopus from Finding Dory)

1st Place: Mrs. Oster’s advisory (Olaf the Snowman from Frozen)

Eighth Grade:

3rd Place: Mrs. Hansen’s advisory (Genie from Aladdin)

2nd Place: Mrs. Franzen’s advisory (The Balloon House from Up)

1st Place: Ms. McAllister’s advisory (Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc.)