CANORA - The School Community Council of the Canora Junior Elementary School held a meeting with a number of parents in attendance, many of whom were interested in finding out more about the school’s decision to host a different type of event for Halloween this year.
SCC president Roxilana Roberts called the Nov. 9 meeting to order and welcomed everyone in attendance. She then shared her name and the name and age of her child, and asked all in attendance to do the same, going around the room.
In the principal’s report, Shawna Stangel provided the results of a survey from school families regarding the Harvest Celebration held on Oct. 31, in place of a more traditional Halloween event and/or costume parade.
She said the Harvest Celebration was “a wonderful success,” paying tribute to the importance of agriculture across the Canora region. The decision to hold the event was not made lightly; in fact, discussions on this topic had been taking place at the school over the past two years. To that, one of the parents replied, “There was no engagement with parents regarding this big decision over that two-year timeframe. Being included in that process would have been appreciated.”
Another parent criticized the lack of clarity regarding information sent out prior to the Harvest Celebration. “My nine-year-old didn’t know whether to dress up as a farmer or for Halloween.”
Stangel continued, “A lot of things have been said over the last couple of weeks that have fostered misconceptions. The reasons for this decision included affordability of costumes for some, staff had noticed fewer children had been participating in Halloween events in recent years, and privacy and security were also a major concern.” Stangel explained that a number of CJES students, “more than enough to fill one of our classrooms,” do not have permission to be in photos or videos that are published, which is very difficult to control in the environment of a Halloween parade.
In the survey, Stangel said they were looking for constructive suggestions going forward, and was quite pleased with some of the comments, including “Parents should start a costume closet or a collection of costumes for students to access if they otherwise don’t have access to costumes,” and “For the event, add stations on other customs or cultures.”
A parent in attendance at the meeting added, “Some kids don’t like all the attention of being in a parade in their costume.”
Stangel said all of the feedback was much appreciated, and added, “The conversation continues. We’re learning. We said from the start that we wanted feedback. We wanted to achieve a day where everyone can come. Halloween doesn’t accomplish this.
“Now this feedback gives us something to move forward with, keeping the focus on what’s most important: your kids.”
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