Now they're going after Halloween

[wonder whisper]

Both Needham and Norwood are towns completely independent from Boston, which is its own city. Sure, they're all in the Greater Boston area, but that doesn't make these towns "Boston."

Needham has eight schools, only one of which made the reported change. Norwood has seven, with again only one making a change.

Huh? Which principals banned the use of any word?

According to the news reports, the Principals of schools in both Needham and Norwood banned the use of the term "Halloween" to label any event in their school. As for the relationship of those municipalities to Boston, both are comparatively nondescript suburbs (Needham is sort of an "entry level" upper income area, not as choice as its neighbor Wellesley. Norwood is a middle income area further north).

 

[wonder whisper]

I make a phone call and say "child will be out from x date to x date due to family vacation" or "child will be absent today" and that's that. Have yet to see any truancy officers banging on our door.

Oh no, this thread is being hijacked into a "pulling the kids out of school so we can go to WDW during less crowded periods for -uh- oh, yeah "educational purposes" debate.

Those never end well.....

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Both Needham and Norwood are towns completely independent from Boston, which is its own city. Sure, they're all in the Greater Boston area, but that doesn't make these towns "Boston."

I thought it was pretty obvious I meant Boston in general, from a historical perspective. Over the years, many people who lived in or were from Boston moved out to the suburbs, which both of those communities are - and also very close to Lexington, btw, which was mentioned a page or so ago as playing a significant part in the American Revolution.

 

[CinderDuffy]

Oh no, this thread is being hijacked into a "pulling the kids out of school so we can go to WDW during less crowded periods for -uh- oh, yeah "educational purposes" debate.

Those never end well.....

Is it a debate? The only one arguing is you, and I don't claim either here or to the school to be doing it for educational purposes.

 

[mjkacmom]

Sure, I agree with that. That's why it's so painful for the kids who either aren't allowed or supported by their families to participate. Every school I've been in does tons of things that celebrate fall and Halloween, removing the 2 hour time suck of a costume parade for a small amount of parents and having an after school event doesn't change that. (Plus the added thing that some kids are excluded that I talked of earlier.) Parents want it all, so teachers end up skipping some of the cool educational opportunities the holiday provides to have the kids parade through or around an empty school (all the kids are parading) in their costumes. Missing art projects, math games, science experiments, etc. to do a Halloween costume parade just doesn't make sense to most teachers, who usually vote against the Halloween parade - at least in my experience. People just like to blame "religion" for things. IMO the best way to "have it all" is to have the after school events or have people do the costume thing on their own after school.

At the school I was at the teacher's overwhelmingly shot down the costume parade. However, we have all sorts of fun. Some of the older classes put on plays, one teacher knows how to milk the silk out of spiders and is in great demand to demonstrate. Lower grades usually do cooking and/or candy math games. Everyone does art projects. All of those things can be adjusted around whomever is in your class. Then we have a carnival after school. Yet, every year we hear "they're cancelling Halloween due to religion." What?

Our parades have been going on for 50+ years, the teachers choose a book every year to base their costumes on, it takes an hour total out of the day, for the party and parade. The kids love it, the parents love it, it’s FUN.

 

[wonder whisper]

Is it a debate? The only one arguing is you, and I don't claim either here or to the school to be doing it for educational purposes.

No, but it runs the risk of turning into one. A quick search will show you that whenever the taking-kids-out-of-school-to-go-to-to-WDW subject comes up here, the conversations tend to get heated very quickly. it's actually one of those subjects on the DIS where not only will consensus never be reached, but also where people tend to take the matter quite personally.

 

[wonder whisper]

And here I thought it was only my area that "scheduled" Trick-or-Treat. Usually only the last Friday in October. Some areas do Sunday.

Halloween in my area is what it has always traditionally been: the 31st of October. Local authorities have never mandated moving it to some other day. I presume where that happens in other areas is based upon convenience (either keeping it on non-school night and/or not conflicting with other community events, such as in Texas, where Friday night high school football is a sacrosanct ritual).

What I do roll my eyes at somewhat is where additional restrictions are added, in terms of "official allowed hours" for trick or treating. Around here, people have enough sense to end going from house to house by around 9-9:15PM. The latest I've ever had kids coming to our door is around that time, usually a group of young teens. The family crowd (which in many cases are comparatively large multi-family groups) are done earlier, by 8:30 or so.

 

[RedAngie]

I never lived in an area where trick-or-treating was only authorized on a day other than October 31. I doubt such an idea would go over well here.

One time in the late 1960's when I was a kid, Halloween fell on Sunday. Almost everybody observed Sunday Blue Laws back then, so trick-or-treating was Saturday that year.

 

[wonder whisper]

.

If I were elected President, one of the first things I would do would be to make the celebrated day for Halloween always be the last Friday of October.

Halloween is short for "All Hallows Eve", which per the Christian calendar is the night before All Saints Day, which always falls on November 1st .

So mandating that is must always fall on a Friday would as crazy as mandating that Christmas Eve must always fall on a on a specific day of the week.

 

[sam_gordon]

I never lived in an area where trick-or-treating was only authorized on a day other than October 31. I doubt such an idea would go over well here.

One time in the late 1960's when I was a kid, Halloween fell on Sunday. Almost everybody observed Sunday Blue Laws back then, so trick-or-treating was Saturday that year.

Don't those two statements contradict each other?

 

[CarolAnn856]

I never lived in an area where trick-or-treating was only authorized on a day other than October 31. I doubt such an idea would go over well here.

One time in the late 1960's when I was a kid, Halloween fell on Sunday. Almost everybody observed Sunday Blue Laws back then, so trick-or-treating was Saturday that year.

Blue laws were around when I was very young, but they just meant stores were closed. Why would they affect Halloween?

 

[Wendy31]

Halloween is short for "All Hallows Eve", which per the Christian calendar is the night before All Saints Day, which always falls on November 1st .

So mandating that is must always fall on a Friday would as crazy as mandating that Christmas Eve must always fall on a on a specific day of the week.

Oh, I know that Halloween is short for All Hallow's Eve & comes before All Saint's Day.

I just never like celebrating Halloween on a school night. It's always more fun when it falls on a Friday or Saturday night, & you don't have to worry about school & work responsibilities the next day.

And high school football is huge in our area too, so I get it. "Friday Night Lights" is a thing for sure!

I'd also like to submit for approval that the Super Bowl always be played on a Friday or a Saturday as well.

 

[L&Lfan]

I suppose the secular observation of Halloween could be moved to any date the community feels is more convenient. Like when most federal holidays were moved to Mondays. The Christian Church would just have to deal with it. Or not deal with it by keeping the religious observance on October 31.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

No, but it runs the risk of turning into one. A quick search will show you that whenever the taking-kids-out-of-school-to-go-to-to-WDW subject comes up here, the conversations tend to get heated very quickly. it's actually one of those subjects on the DIS where not only will consensus never be reached, but also where people tend to take the matter quite personally.

I'm going to learn so much Culture drinking beer around the world.... Oh wait. I mean my kid is going to learn so much by coloring in color books... Oh wait. Drat. I kind of muffed that one up. Sorry kids. Principal says no. The big meanie!!

 

[wonder whisper]

I'm going to learn so much Culture drinking beer around the world.... Oh wait. I mean my kid is going to learn so much by coloring in color books... Oh wait. Drat. I kind of muffed that one up. Sorry kids. Principal says no. The big meanie!!

What are actually quite entertaining are the threads here were someone asks people to help them compose the "Muffy is going to be out of school for X days/weeks" letter to the principal.

Ergo, they assume there is some magical composition approach that guarantees the recipient will respond with "no problem, enjoy the two week long DCL cruise!" The OPs of those threads then get annoyed as the template they presumed would immediately appear never does (or the few that do are unbelievably bad) and the thread inevitably goes off on tangents over the issue of taking kids out of school for vacations.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

What are actually quite entertaining are the threads here were someone asks people to help them compose the "Muffy is going to be out of school for X days/weeks" to letter to the principal.

Ergo, they assume there is some magical composition approach that guarantees the recipient will respond with "no problem, enjoy the two week long DCL cruise!" The OPs of those threads then get annoyed as the template they presumed would immediately appear never does (or the few that do are unbelievably bad) and the thread inevitably goes off on tangents over the issue of taking kids out of school for vacations.

LMAO I love how do I make that mean old principal say yes threads.

 

[RedAngie]

Don't those two statements contradict each other?

Yes, I contradicted myself. Let's try again.

Besides the one time in the late 1960's when Halloween fell on a Sunday, I never lived in an area where trick-or-treating was restricted to a day other than October 31.

Blue laws were around when I was very young, but they just meant stores were closed. Why would they affect Halloween?

I really couldn't tell you the reason. That's just the way it was back then in 1960's Philadelphia.


OK, I looked it up. It was actually in 1971 when I was in 4th grade.

 

[RedAngie]

Peanuts Christmas is the only one that's must see for me. Peanuts Halloween was part of my childhood, but not in the same league as the Christmas special. All the rest you can have...I do like the comics.


OT...one of our area's radio stations switched to an all Christmas music format TODAY.

 

[Kaytie]

According to the news reports, the Principals of schools in both Needham and Norwood banned the use of the term "Halloween" to label any event in their school.

First, this is not even implied, much less stated, in the two articles linked in the first post. Second, this is not nearly the same as banning the use of the word.

 

[wonder whisper]

I just never like celebrating Halloween on a school night. It's always more fun when it falls on a Friday or Saturday night, & you don't have to worry about school & work responsibilities the next day.

I hear you, but interestingly, we actually get the best turnouts to our big front yard home haunt display when Halloween falls on a weekday. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best. Weekend nights are actually slower because so many people around here throw Halloween parties on the 31st if it falls on a Friday or Saturday.[/QUOTE]