SCHOOL CAN BE SCARY EVEN WITHOUT ANY QUIZZES OR TESTS
If only every day of school were like this.
During Kipling Elementary School’s annual Pumpkin Fest and silent auction Saturday in Deerfield, classrooms were filled with activities ranging from face painting to karaoke and the limbo.
The principal walked around in orange and black with a pumpkin painted on her cheek. While a man dressed as Frankenstein’s monster stomped around, children ran through the halls.
The cafeteria had pizza, hot dogs, brownies, soda–and no vegetables.
And at the end of the day, the pupils didn’t have to worry about grades. Instead, there was the tantalizing possibility of prizes.
Jillian Plonsker, 7, entered the children’s raffle with the hope of winning a doll named Josephina.
“This is pretty fun, instead of sitting down at your desk and doing work,” said the 2nd-grader.
The Pumpkin Fest and silent auction is the main fundraiser for Kipling’s Parent-Teacher Organization. With more than 600 items auctioned off, the event raised about $20,000.
The money will be used to fund many of the PTO’s programs, including cultural arts assemblies and the school’s landscaping.
But Judi Lindgren, Kipling’s principal, said there’s much more to the day than money.
“We look for our parents to get involved, and we reap the benefits. They put a high energy level into all of our voluntary events,” she said. “I would endorse this day regardless of what’s raised, because it’s fun.”
The haunted house was the main attraction. A group of parents worked from late afternoon until 10 p.m. Friday setting it up for maximum spookiness. With strobe lighting, a casket, and a doctor holding a specimen jar containing something named “Junior,” the house scared more than a few.
Kaitlin Cunniff, 9, said that when she went through, a rope everyone had to hold onto was wet with sweat from an older Kipling student.
“The 6th grader was more afraid than the 4th graders,” she said.
But not everyone had the same reaction.
“It wasn’t exactly pretty scary. The first time I was scared, but I went in four times after that, and it got less and less,” said Rachel Salk, 9.
Resting in full costume after a day’s work as a witch, Marilyn Kelly said that even after five years, she enjoys pumpkin day.
“I’ve been doing this for so long that some of the kids say, `Hey, there’s Mrs. Kelly.” But I still scare them,” she said. Then, with a cackle, she added: “And I still like to make them cry.”
