In October there’s always something fun to do, whether it’s pumpkin carving or watching scary movies. At the end of the month is the one of most highly anticipated days of the year… Halloween! A day where all the spooky monsters and princesses come out at night and knock on doors to get some candy. Not only do kids and teens enjoy the Halloween holiday, but adults do too, as can be seen at our school’s annual Halloween breakfast and costume party.
Every year, each department picks a group costume. Some highlights include the 2019 holiday, where gym teachers were characters from Austin Powers and a mix of teachers were Scrabble letters. In 2021, the gym teachers did Sesame Street, history was The Addams Family, and math & world language dressed up as Expo markers. In 2020, the gym teachers were Willy Wonka and to flip the script, the history department dressed up as the gym teachers. Ultimately, the gym teachers typically have the most amusing group costumes, although the history department has given gym a run for their money in recent years. 
This year, there were some surprising costumes. The English department won big for “creativity” and dressed up as all of Taylor Swift’s eras. In a surprise twist, the gym teachers were also Taylor Swift themed, but with two security guards, two back-up dancers, Travis Kelce, and the queen, Taylor Swift herself. The math department wore animal onesies and guidance wore Cards Against Humanity style cards with “PPBHS Students be like…” and poked fun at typical student responses. This was pretty funny, but not as funny as the performing arts teachers which were classic ghosts, using plain old bedsheets with eye holes cut out. The administration dressed as Despicable Me with Principal Karcich as Gru and Vice Prinicpals Kirk and Rohmeyer as minions.
In the end, the history department won it all again with “Best Group Costume” for their portrayal of the Toy Story characters. They thought of every character, including two people connected to make Slinky and Mr. Flanagan as stuntman Duke Caboom on his motorcycle.
The students’ costumes were innovative too, with some portraying video game characters, groups of animal onesies and Disney characters, and even a maid costume! Although not every student participated in the contest, those who did used their costumes to express creative thinking and celebrate friendship; this Halloween was one to remember!
