Halloween Costumes at School -Thurs. 10/31
Halloween is quickly approaching! While dressing up and celebrating the holiday provides opportunities for fun and community building, it can also create situations where students inadvertently wear costumes that may be hurtful to others. I ask you to join me in ensuring that students are thoughtful about their costumes. Being proactive will help us avoid uncomfortable situations and ensure Halloween is a time where all students feel safe and respected.
Please talk with your student to ensure their costume does not portray a stereotypical image of a culture or group of people. Also, help them ensure their costume is not offensive to any racial, ethnic, or religious group, people with disabilities or illnesses, or any other group. Costumes should not turn someone’s identity into a caricature. While students may choose to dress as a famous person or character whose identity differs from their own, please reinforce that darkening skin or using makeup to change skin color is inappropriate and hurtful. Students may not be aware of the long history of harm these practices have caused, and they need our guidance in understanding why it’s problematic.
Some examples of problematic costumes include Native American headdresses or feathers, dressing as a homeless person, dressing as someone with physical or mental disabilities, or any costume that portrays a narrow or negative stereotype based on ethnicity, religion, or race.
I look forward to celebrating Halloween with all the students and appreciate your support in making it a fun and inclusive day for everyone. If you have any questions regarding the day, please feel free to reach out.
Orchestra News
A tradition for 35 years, our Fall Festival is a family-friendly community event. Each year, we gather hundreds Austin ISD orchestra students from many Austin High School feeder schools, as well as other area schools for a Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos themed concert and carnival. In addition to performances by the Austin high School Orchestras, the event features performances by the orchestras from Mathews Elementary as well as Covington, O. Henry, and Small Middle Schools, plus Ann Richards, Kealing, Lamar, and Lively Middle Schools. For the students, it’s a great opportunity to showcase their work and connect with fellow orchestra students. For the families and community, it’s a fun and busy fall festival!
Carnival attractions include music, games, food and beverages, a bounce house and dunk tank, as well as a silent auction that features interesting items to bid on.
While the carnival fun continues outside from 1:30pm to 6:30pm, orchestra performances take place inside the AISD Performing Arts Center beginning at 2:30 and continue until about 8:00pm. Please see the attached schedule for details.
