The halls of Communications High School (CHS) were haunted on Thursday, Oct. 31, as students donned their Halloween costumes for a day of treats and trickery.
The event of the day was the annual Halloween parade. Students could sign up to showcase their Halloween costumes at the front of the cafeteria before a panel of judges. Music and sound effects were an optional addition to each performance.
The judges, a selected team of teachers, chose winners for the following categories: “Most Original”, “Best Group”, “Most Effort”, “Best Couple/Pair”, “Scariest” and “Funniest”. The table of judges included Health and Fitness teacher Madison Gibson, Spanish teacher Karen Britto-Davino, History teacher Sharyn O’Keefe, English teacher Sarah Vela and Math teacher Justine Lane.
The parade included expressive costumes ranging from the Star Wars cast to a Family Feud skit to a scary physics test. For one costume, former CHS fitness teacher Virginia “Ginny” Clevenger made a guest appearance.
Freshman Megan Twomey of Middletown enjoyed the Fall Spirit Week tradition and was impressed by the student body’s involvement.
“Everyone was so outgoing with their presentations,” she said.
The seniors and juniors both gained 15 points from the parade, with the seniors winning “Most Original” and “Scariest” and the juniors winning the categories, “Most Effort” and “Funniest”. The sophomores received 10 points for their Star Wars themed group costume and the freshmen received five for their Saturday Night Live inspired duo costume.
Although the event was well-liked, students like sophomore Ryleigh Luethold of Manasquan expressed a desire for adjustments in the parade.
“I wished that our performance could be longer,” she said.
Additionally, sophomore Cameron Ledbetter of Tinton Falls felt that the preparation of the parade should be improved in the future.
“If they could give people more time in advance to pick a song, I think maybe more people would participate,” he said.
Aside from a few suggestions for improvement, it was another successful CHS Halloween parade. Winner of the “Most Effort” category, junior Zachary Pressler of Roosevelt praised the event.
“I loved seeing all the people go out there,” he said. “[They were] so talented and there’s not a thing I would change.”
Currently, the seniors are maintaining their lead with 145 points, the juniors are close behind with 135 points, the sophomores are standing at 118 points and the freshmen have 111 points. Friday marks the last day of the 2024 Fall Spirit Week, but there is still time to turn the tides.
