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Canfield students get kick out of Halloween
By Billy Ludt
CANFIELD
Halloween is not taken lightly at Canfield Schools.
Students from kindergarten up to high-school seniors dressed up at school for Halloween, but the extent of the celebration didn’t stop there.
The pinnacle of the many Halloween attractions Tuesday at the high school, home of the Cardinals, is a haunted house created every year in honor of Hallow’s Eve. For the day, Corpsefield Farms occupied the high school’s art wing.
What was once classrooms became a descent into a winding, haunted farmhouse, with dark figures standing just out of view, waiting to jump out when unsuspecting students walked by.
“I think it’s a good tradition,” said senior Mariah Sincel, who dressed up as a tourist. “It’s cool because all the other schools don’t really do it like we do.”
Students waited in a line that began nearly at the school’s lobby to see if they could make it through the farms. For the three weeks leading up to Halloween, students from art classes, the art club and art faculty created Corpsefield Farms.
Creating the haunted house was integrated into art class curriculum, and the people providing the scares were all teachers.
“It gets better every year,” Markie Pozzuto, a ninth-grade English teacher, said. Pozzuto was dressed as a Greek goddess. “It’s really special that kids can do something like this, because a lot of schools don’t get to do anything like this.”
Like the art classes, Pozzuto integrated Halloween into her curriculum. Students were assigned to write Halloween-themed short stories.
To kick off the holiday, high-school students grouped up and claimed a plot in the hallways to make it a theme of their choice. Some themes were Polar Express, SeaWorld, Louis Sachar’s book “Holes,” Hogwarts from the “Harry Potter” books, “water” pong and a bird’s nest.
Students took to their plots and put on skits during first period.
“I think it’s really important for the students,” said senior Jill Baker, who was dressed for a slumber party. She and her classmates, Baker said, look forward to Canfield’s Halloween celebration ever year. “It’s something different for us, having the opportunity to do this.”
Hilltop and C.H. Campbell Elementary Schools had a pumpkin-decorating contest, classroom parties and a Halloween parade for their students. Canfield Village Middle School celebrated with a performance from the school’s band.