Celebrating Halloween at RWS

Every year our Grades and Early Childhood classes celebrate Halloween with a parade and a special performance of poems and songs for friends and family. Upon first glance, these festivities may seem no different than Halloween at any local school. However, if you look more closely, you’ll notice something about the costumes Waldorf children, parents and teachers are wearing.

For our elementary and middle school students, costumes worn at school come from the curriculum. Our first graders are kings, queens, knights, princesses, gnomes, and fairies. In seventh grade you may see Leonardo or the Mona Lisa herself. It’s wide open with one caveat: students don’t wear anything that comes straight from TV, movies, or video games. You also will not see students in masks covering their faces. We these suggestions in mind, children and their families put together costumes that represent something meaningful to them. They enjoy a rare chance to transform themselves into a character or myth that pertains to their lives.

These practices relate directly to our goal as a school: to foster a learning environment that promotes independent thinking, cultivates creativity, and builds confidence. Every day is a chance to develop curious, confident, and capable individuals!