"erring on the side of preserving as much precious academic instructional time as we can" The administration at BTEMS has decided (without teacher or parental input) to discontinue the celebration of Halloween in school. They are however encouraging "crazy hat day, sport day or a short fall celebration" but discourage any celebration with food.

We have many lasting memories from our holiday celebrations as children. I'm sure every adult in our district can recall a Halloween parade, a secret Santa gift, a special valentine or their classmates singing happy birthday with cupcakes from home. Why should our children not have the same memories? Will having a crazy-hat day instead of a Halloween parade ensure they have a better grasp of common-core math? Does sports day allow every child to feel more involved?

We the parents and community members of Barre Town wish to preserve the celebration of Halloween along with all other traditional holidays and activities. Our fear is this is the beginning of the end of all celebrations in our school. Lets stop this before it starts!