Halloween is usually associated with the supernatural and horror. Schools seek to demystify this concept by offering a wide variety of activities that involve the entire school community. Correio dos Açores spoke with officials from Colégio de Palmo e Meio, Colégio do Castanheiro, and Escola Básica Integrada 2/3 de Arrifes to learn which activities will be offered on this day.

At Colégio de Palmo e Meio, Halloween celebrations began earlier this year. João Sousa, the school’s principal, said they started decorating the school “last Tuesday. The students have been very enthusiastic. They really like the Halloween decorations, which also serve to demystify the concept of death associated with Halloween. At this time of year, it is always seen in a very positive light, and people of all ages end up embracing it and having a different relationship with these things that are part of our daily lives, whether we like it or not.”

The director stated that “every year, here at the school, we hold a Halloween-themed contest where we encourage children to bring something made by them, or by their parents, but mostly by the children, thus involving both the family and the community. This year we held a broom contest, which had the highest participation ever: almost 70 brooms were exhibited. We hold an online vote, which ends on Halloween, and the winner in each category, nursery, preschool, and elementary school, receives a prize. The whole community is involved, and participation is optional, meaning anyone who wants to can participate. Every year, we have had greater participation from students and parents.”

When asked what activities they would be doing today, the director replied that on Halloween, they would “have a day dedicated to the theme, where the children come to school in costume, and depending on their age, they will do specific activities. In the nursery, there will be classroom activities; the two-year-olds will have a Halloween dance in our multipurpose room; and the preschool and elementary school will go trick-or-treating in our community. It’s a way for them to socialize with the local community, and it’s a really fun activity. There are always shopkeepers who join in.”

For João Sousa, “the sooner we use legends, and this is imported from the American spirit where it is very much alive, but which is present in our lives and helps to demystify, as I mentioned above, the myths that exist. It is important to celebrate these dates because we will create good memories for our children. When they are adults, they will certainly remember moments like this.”

Contests and activities will be part of Halloween at Colégio do Castanheiro.

Colégio do Castanheiro is one of the schools that enthusiastically celebrate Halloween. Sara Pavão and Beatriz Sousa are responsible for this year’s activities. When asked about the importance of legends, they explained that they only begin to “really specify the history of Halloween from the third grade onwards. Until then, we base ourselves on what they already know about fantastic elements, that is, things that do not exist. Of course, the legend itself is important, but because it also has religious connotations, we have distanced ourselves a little so we can include all the students at the school. We have students who do not celebrate Halloween here at school. It is important, but we focus more on the present than the past because, as I explained, the religious aspect carries significant weight.

The entire school community is invited to participate, although there may be exceptions.

“We encourage all students to participate, although their participation is not mandatory. As we have students whose religion does not allow them to participate, they are not required to do so. For example, if students in the classroom do not want to participate in Halloween activities, they will do similar activities that are not related to the theme, which are prepared in advance. Normally, the entire educational community participates and really enjoys this type of event. At Ouriteca, we have two decorations: one more geared towards Halloween on one side and the other more geared towards All Saints’ Day on the other, thus encompassing both aspects. We will have activities for an older audience, namely for the third cycle and secondary school, although secondary school students do not have classes on this day. We try to have several alternatives for the different years we have here at the school.”

Regarding the activities that will take place today, Sara Pavão and Beatriz Sousa inform us that they have already started, not just on the day itself. “We started the Halloween activities yesterday, as we have an activity that is common to the first cycle and preschool. And as we have more than 300 students this year, we decided to start yesterday with the Escape Room, an activity developed by teacher Beatriz Sousa. It is an activity that takes on another dimension because, this year, English was introduced in preschool. The children come dressed up in advance and we adults have also been in the spirit since the beginning of the week.”

“We will have exhibitions, we have the ghost contest, we have a spider exhibition, made by the preschool, where we encourage family work with recyclable materials. Along with Christmas, we always involve families. In addition to these activities, today we have Halloween dances and a bake sale. Above all, there is more and more joy, with less scary things. Yesterday, the 4th grade participated in a field trip to Casa do Bernardo Estrela, in Ribeira Grande. There are several dynamics here that are conducive to that,“ continued those responsible.

Beatriz Sousa created an Escape Room for the younger ones to enjoy. ”The Escape Room will be for preschool and first cycle and will not have very scary elements. We usually associate Halloween with scary things, and I understand that it can be for adults. But for children, we don’t do that; we do everything as a game. We made the Escape Room with a traditional games theme, since Halloween is about that. For example, instead of throwing bows at bottles, they will throw witch hats.

Everything is very simple, to also break the stereotype that Halloween is bad and scary.“ Beatriz Sousa, who has been helping with Halloween celebrations for five academic years, and Sara Pavão, who has been at Colégio do Castanheiro for longer, admit that these celebrations have been ”gaining prominence.”

In the beginning, Pão por Deus was celebrated more for its Azorean tradition. Halloween has been gaining more space over the years. The fact that it is more imaginative and has more props makes it more appealing. Kids want to dress up, and this has become increasingly important every year. The day is more lively both inside and outside of school. We are increasingly influenced by American culture, even by the large presence of social media in our lives.“ It is important to celebrate Halloween because I can associate the event with my subject and thus combine business with pleasure,” concluded Beatriz Sousa, an English teacher.

“School is much more than being inside a classroom.”

At Escola Básica Integrada 2/3 de Arrifes, Halloween was celebrated differently this year: in addition to decorations alluding to the theme, one classroom was transformed into a Halloween fair.

The students who worked on setting up the room said they really enjoyed this activity because they had the opportunity to do “new and different things. We made pumpkins, bracelets, and candles.”

“We melted wax in a pan and then added crayons to give it color. Then we put it into molds made from PVC water pipes and placed a board and glue underneath.

We poured it and removed the mold the next day, when the wax had cooled,“ said the students who made the candles on display.

”This year we were able to do a big activity, which unfortunately we couldn’t do last year. People should better understand the work we did, and sometimes we don’t see all the work we do being recognized. We would like there to be more activities like this, so that people could visit us. For us, Halloween is about knocking on doors, doing ‘trick or treat,’ and being with family,” they concluded.

For the teachers who helped and supervised these tasks, Elsa Mendes and Pedro Basílio, the possibility of carrying out this kind of activity is very important. “This activity is very important for connecting generations, for example, and for approaching this tradition in a much more positive way, linked to fun and other traditions such as trick-or-treating.”

When asked about the various cultures their students can experience, Elsa Mendes said that “we live in a very comprehensive and intercultural world. We are not exclusively experiencing our own culture, but rather experiencing a unity of various cultures and welcoming people from other countries, including foreign students who do not speak our language. So there is a great sharing of cultures with this globalization.”

The celebrations of this event have grown in scale, as in other schools, over the years. “We have always celebrated Halloween, but more in a classroom context, with each class. This year, and perhaps since last year, we have managed to take the celebrations out of the classroom and give them a slightly larger dimension. Last year, we sold items made by students and their families. Last year, we had the collaboration of families who provided us with cakes and malassadas, whom I would like to thank for their help, and this year we managed to hold this Halloween fair in a room that was decorated with elements alluding to the theme, such as pumpkins, ‘spider webs,’ and other elements. At this fair, we sold some items at a symbolic price, such as magnets, candles, and crackers. We were able to use a room for this purpose, which allowed us to involve the whole school, as the classes came to visit the space, experiencing the spirit of fun and purchasing the items available.

This type of event offers an opportunity to foster significant interaction among the entire school community. “It was an event of great experience and sharing between students and others, as teachers, teaching assistants, and members of the school office also visited us. School is much more than just being inside a classroom.”

Pedro Basílio and Elsa Mendes pointed out that “the room was organized by the DOV (vocational development screening) A and B classes, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of a fair and having the opportunity to produce and showcase their own products.”

Frederico Figueiredo is a journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros-director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.