Halloween 2024

Tapleytown Families,

We wanted to share some information regarding Halloween. Halloween will be celebrated at
Tapleytown on Thursday October 31st. A reminder that the following day, November 1st is a PA
day – no school for students.

Students are permitted to bring treats to share. They must be store bought with ingredients on
the packaging. All treats must be nut free and free of any specific allergens in your class. Many
of our students do not eat gelatin, please carefully check ingredients for this. We are a nut free
building.

For student who choose to wear a costume on Halloween, students must arrive to school in
their costume and wear it for the day. A school costume should allow for the student to
participate in all activities at school (recess, gym, music etc). Masks are not permitted at
school, nor are any costume weapons.

Halloween 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?

Please have these discussions with your students/child.

Alternative Plan

Some students may not participate for religious or cultural reasons, Tapleytown will plan for an
inclusive day to allow all students to participate in the school day.