Black and Orange/Costume Spirit Day/ Halloween

Balaclava School is pleased to announce that Monday October 31 will be a Black and Orange/ Halloween Spirit Day. As part of HWDSB, Balaclava is committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for everyone. With this in mind we recognize that not all families are celebrating Halloween and hope that the Black/ Orange theme provides entry points for all students who would like to participate in a spirit day. Families are asked to please consider the following information as we prepare for October 31:

Halloween Costumes and Cultural Appropriation:
Cultural appropriation means taking or borrowing a look or trait from a culture that is not your own. Costumes that are based on people’s culture are offensive, harmful and insensitive. The following are suggested questions to reflect on when choosing a costume to avoid being disrespectful or offensive:
• Is my costume making fun of a group of people, their culture, religion and/or belief systems?
• Does my costume reinforce jokes and stereotypes about certain groups, cultures, religions and/or belief systems?
• Am I altering my skin color, facial/body features to make it like a particular race, ethnicity, or cultural group?
• Am I dressing up as a culture or borrowing from a religion that is not my own or is not part of my
background?

We are grateful for the conversations that families might have with their children about ensuring that costumes do not include items that resemble weapons or gore. As Balaclava remains a nut-sensitive school we are asking that students continue to not share food. October 31 is a special event day where our nutrition policy will not be in effect.

Thank you for your ongoing support.