On Wednesday, Oct. 31, the Archer community celebrated Halloween with a Student Council-run festival in the courtyard and a haunted house presented by the senior class. Classes were shortened and students had an extended lunch period in which to visit the courtyard celebration, which had activities including pumpkin decorating contests, guessing the weight of a pumpkin and a fashion show.

The haunted house has traditionally been featured in the Black Box theater, but this year the senior class had to “take into consideration” the ongoing Archer Forward construction plan in order to find a space, senior Dominique Cadenas said. The class ended up using the basement level and making the experience construction-themed in reference to these changes.

“It was super fun to be part of setting up,” Cadenas said. “We wanted to play with the idea that we might not have a haunted house and that our haunted house might be different due to the construction happening.”

Junior Class Representative Sophie Larbalestier said that seeing students having fun on Halloween is rewarding because of the effort that Student Council puts in.

“I love planning [Halloween] and I love working at it and seeing everyone have a good time, especially after you see all your hard work go into it,” Larbalestier said during the celebration. “I am currently standing near the candy table and there’s so much [candy] and it just shows how many people love getting spirit points, and how much they care about Halloween.”

Larbalestier explained that Student Council makes sure the Halloween festivities run smoothly with plenty of contests and spirit point incentives.

“We plan for a couple weeks before [Halloween]. We go over what we want to have there, whether it’s games, feely-boxes, [or candy]. Then we plan that, talk to the grades, send out emails,” she said. “We get everyone hyped up.” 

One of the activities which Student Council plans is the fashion show, in which individuals and groups of students and faculty alike sign up to parade down a runway.

“I really like the fashion show even though I’m not in it. I like to see people walking down the runway,” freshman Aiea Clark said. “This year, there were a lot of unique costumes. One of my favorites was a girl dressed up as an apology video.”

Middle School Director Karen Pavliscak said that the most enjoyable part of Archer’s Halloween celebration was the atmosphere of “joy.”

“There’s not one person here who has not taken on an alternative identity,” she said. “In a space where we can celebrate, we take it to the absolute most. I love that.”