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[attachment=896]
This is a message on behalf of Jamestown Elementary School PTO.
The parents and teachers of Jamestown Elementary would like to announce that they agreed to move their Spooky festivities this year to the weekend instead of the day of Halloween.
Jamestown Elementary will have their annual Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 29th, starting at 5pm in the Town Square (a.k.a. little park), trick or treating around town to follow.
JES families will not be trick or treating on Halloween this year.
The Trick or Treating route is:
Main Street, Mesa Street from Anderson Hill down to 12th and Lower Main
We hope you all can join our crew on Saturday before Halloween. If you will not be home and are on the route, feel free to leave a bowl of goodies out for kiddos.
And if you are outside the route, feel free to "trunk or treat" by driving to the parking lot next to the Town Square. Be there with your candy to hand out by 5:45 p.m. The kids will start trick or treating at 6 p.m.!
Happy Fall from everyone at Jamestown Elementary!
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I'd like to put in my two cents on this.
I know I speak for other Jamestown residents when I say that Halloween is on the 31st of October, not on a date that we decide it will be on.
Sure, there are inconveniences when it falls on a weekday, but that's just part of the deal.
I also take issue with the fact that this was decided by the JES PTO and not the community as a whole; I was under the understanding that this is not how things are done in Jamestown.
Unfortunately, because the date was moved, we will not be having the haunted house this year as we already have plans. I know the decision has already been made but, hopefully we can keep Halloween on Halloween next year.
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Hey Drew-
Historically, JT PTO has voted the date to celebrate the kids Halloween celebration, and some years it has changed from its actual calendar date. This was voted with the hopes that the kids will be better rested and not sugar crazy for the next few days of the school week.
Regardless, your still welcome to have your annual haunted house on Mon, 31st. Invite the community to come check it out and celebrate, I think it’d be nice for everyone to have something to look forward to on the actual day.
Take care
Julie
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A couple of days before the Halloween schedule change was announced our local version of Cindy Lou approached me and asked why we already had Halloween decorations out. Had I known the plan I could have cleverly replied ‘because Halloween is coming early this year’. I, also, prefer to celebrate on the actual date but then I come from a more traditional time when my mother could make sugar cookies and decorate them with orange frosting and chocolate chip pumpkin faces to hand out and we could get actual popcorn balls from other neighbors. I think it is appropriate to recognize that this is a community event not just a parent/ teacher event so I might question why that group are the sole deciders. Still, even if I do not agree it is necessary, I understand why a contingent lobbied for a different day and have to acknowledge that in a group/democracy/community you sometimes have to go along with a majority even when you do not agree.
For some of us Halloween planning is more than a three week exercise and for many of us weekend commitments can be made well in advance of a three week window. In our own case we expected to have three days to do the last minute parts of decorating including the weather sensitive things that can not be done in advance. Instead we have one. And due to other commitments we don’t get to just start two days earlier on those.
So I am going to suggest that if this is a school (PTO) decision each year that it should be reviewed along with the rest of the school schedule as school starts in the fall and announced then. The calendar doesn’t change. And everyone can know well in advance how to plan their Halloween time period.
Also, I do not recommend leaving out an unattended bowl of candy. We have some experiences with this including last year when we walked away from the bowl to talk at the fence for a bit with friends when things had slowed down only to find that just a few kids later a substantial remaining bowl had been entirely emptied. Unfortunately there are a few trick or treaters that have not learned to take only their share when no one is looking. But it means they learn they can do it and later kids learn a lesson of being too late to the party and getting nothing. Perhaps if you are not around on Saturday the better option is to give that candy to a parent or teacher so it can be distributed by them.
Wishing everyone a Spooky Saturday.
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I don't think anyone is saying that the entire town has celebrate Halloween on Saturday. The original notice says that the Halloween party (hosted by JES parents) is moving to Saturday, and if you'd like to also participate - and perhaps hand out candy to the little kids who have the most trouble at school on the following day - you're welcome to. But if you'd rather stick to handing out candy and/or hosting a haunted house on Oct. 31st, that's well within your right to do so. I think there's room for multiple celebrations based on your preference.
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(10-13-2022, 09:08 AM)Laura B Wrote: I don't think anyone is saying that the entire town has celebrate Halloween on Saturday. The original notice says that the Halloween party (hosted by JES parents) is moving to Saturday, and if you'd like to also participate - and perhaps hand out candy to the little kids who have the most trouble at school on the following day - you're welcome to. But if you'd rather stick to handing out candy and/or hosting a haunted house on Oct. 31st, that's well within your right to do so. I think there's room for multiple celebrations based on your preference. "JES families will not be trick or treating on Halloween this year"
Not really a point to hand out candy on Monday in that case. In addition, why would we put in the effort (over 3 weekends worth) of doing a haunted house if the majority of families (especially those in the Bar-K) will have considered the Halloween "box" checked. Lastly, at this point we will need to be in Boulder on Monday so our kids can trick or treat on the 31st.
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(10-13-2022, 09:23 AM)Drew Allman Wrote: (10-13-2022, 09:08 AM)Laura B Wrote: I don't think anyone is saying that the entire town has celebrate Halloween on Saturday. The original notice says that the Halloween party (hosted by JES parents) is moving to Saturday, and if you'd like to also participate - and perhaps hand out candy to the little kids who have the most trouble at school on the following day - you're welcome to. But if you'd rather stick to handing out candy and/or hosting a haunted house on Oct. 31st, that's well within your right to do so. I think there's room for multiple celebrations based on your preference. "JES families will not be trick or treating on Halloween this year"
Not really a point to hand out candy on Monday in that case. In addition, why would we put in the effort (over 3 weekends worth) of doing a haunted house if the majority of families (especially those in the Bar-K) will have considered the Halloween "box" checked. Lastly, at this point we will need to be in Boulder on Monday so our kids can trick or treat on the 31st.
Well, I think you've hit directly on the main point, Drew: A majority of the families who would be participating in the trick or treating WANT to have it on Saturday. And, my older kid is actually excited about this, since this means she gets twice the haul of candy. If your kids need a ride into Boulder on Monday, I'm happy to bring them with me. Just let me know.
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I actually think the main point is that a little communication with the entire community would be appreciated. With that, I’m done.
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10-13-2022, 11:02 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-14-2022, 10:42 AM by Sal DeVincenzo.)
What are the adults doing on the 31st?
The Alcapones are playing Gold Hill-Max on drums. on the 30th
Hope you work it all out.
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10-14-2022, 09:33 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-14-2022, 10:25 AM by Seth-Strickland.)
To be fair, I too was struck by the wording of the announcement- it does read as though JES PTO is directing an entire community to change the date of a holiday 3 weeks out. Do what you will with your student body and faculty events, but maybe show more consideration to those of us who don't have children at JES or that actually schedule our live more than 3 weeks out. This is the first Halloween in years that I will actually be home and was looking forward to contributing to the sugar overdosing of the JT tikes... Oh well. All hallows eve is 10/31- always has been, always will be.
Will JES PTO be changing the date for Xmas? How about Easter- that damn bunny always picks the wrong day for me anyway. 4th of July would sure be more convenient if it always fell on a Saturday right?
Also, I don't actually have a dog in this fight- but I was rather turned off by the tone of the announcement.
P.S.- I'm just poking; don't take any of that as though I consider this a big deal. I couldn't resist the dust up 
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The dilemma that the community now is stuck with.. are we expected to have treats out for 2 nights, one for the JES kids on Saturday and again on Monday for the rest of the kids that might show up? If we only do one night, there will be disappointed kids one way or the other. If we try to plan for 2 nights of trick-or-treaters and end up getting a low turnout for the 2nd night, there could be a lot of wasted treats, or a shortage of treats if some kids decide to go out for both nights.
The decision does seem to have been forced upon the community without any community input (outside of the JES PTO). If given a long enough notice along with an "official town" statement so that everyone was on the same page it might have worked out a lot better.
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So Cool! The JT kids get to double dip!
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This perfectly illustrates the saying "There's no issue too small to create a controversy"
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Six years ago this month KT and I were married in a Halloween themed wedding. (Ironically, 2016 had exactly the same October calendar, Halloween on Monday, as 2022.) As important as Halloween is to KT we did not get married on the 31st so as not to disrupt the actual celebration of Halloween.
Halloween themed parties often happen before Halloween for the convenience of invited persons or so that people can be more ‘out of control’ with recovery time. That leaves Halloween, on the 31st, clear for the community event of children trick or treating.
Trick or treating, should be a fun time for children, their parents and the community. Kids get to go out, show off costumes, see each other in a different setting and collect treats. Neighbors get to enjoy the costumes, the childrens’ joy, perhaps briefly see adults they know, and hand out treats. It’s a community event, not one by invitation.
It need not ruin the next day. My parents had age appropriate curfews and bed times and, particularly when young, a strict rule that we could sort and trade as much as we wanted but we got to eat two, only two, pieces of candy that night.
We are saddened that what we now suspect is much less than a majority made other plans for the community. We will be celebrating Halloween on the 31st and won’t be handing out candy on the 29th. If people want to work the system to ‘double the loot’ our preference would be that they at least trick or treat in our community on Halloween. We look forward to seeing as many kids and adults as can join us at the spooky sunflower house on Halloween.
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