parents enjoy annual
Halloween celebration
Students, teachers,
parents enjoy annual
Halloween celebration
BY JOYCE BLAY
Staff Writer
Enjoying themselves at the Oak Street School Halloween festivities in Lakewood are Esperanza White, 10 (Cleopatra), Shaun Johnson, 9 (The Scream), Jay Powell, 8 (Batman) and Brandon Levinson, 9 (Superman).
Some of Lakewood’s youngest ghosts and goblins this past Halloween are also the township’s most promising pupils. On Oct. 31, the Oak Street School celebrated the pupils’ artistic and musical talents in a joint program with the Lakewood High School marching band.
The results thrilled faculty and parents alike.
"It’s a beautiful day, a beautiful program," said Principal Dr. Sheldon Boxer. "This is a kids’ thing — and adults, too. It’s good to see the kids and adults in the community coming out, and the band, too."
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., nearly 1,000 Oak Street pupils took to nearby streets in parade formation, accompanied by the high school marching band in full dress uniform. Lakewood Fire Department trucks and Lakewood Police Department cars led the parade, their sirens and flashing red beacons alerting bystanders of the procession’s arrival on their street.
JOYCE BLAY Oak Street School guidance counselor Karen Zielinski (l) and media specialist Diane Hampton were in the Halloween spirit on Oct. 31.
After making a tour around the block, the parade concluded in the field behind the school. The marching band members then gave an abbreviated performance of their award-winning adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera." Many of the onlookers watching them cited the music and pageantry as a contributing factor to their enjoyment of the event.
"Fabulous, it’s always fabulous," said Susan Goldzman, a sixth-grade teacher and coordinator of the event. "We’ve been doing this for about 10 years."
As the Oak Street staff and pupils enjoyed themselves, several children in costume approached a Tri-Town News reporter and clamored for her to take their photo.
Jay Powell, 8, was dressed as Batman; Brandon Levinson, 9, was dressed as Superman; Esperanza White, 10, was made up as the legendary beauty Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile; and Shaun Johnson, 9, wore a black robe and the chalk-white mask of The Scream.
Although the children said they were all students in Anna Camporeale’s class, they did not all share the same Halloween ambition.
"I don’t want to scare anybody," said Esperanza.
Her words pleased John Martinez, 20, a paraprofessional dressed as a bum.
"I like seeing the kids in their great costumes, having a great time," he said.
In recognition of Halloween as a time when people use their creativity to celebrate the macabre as well as to emulate cultural icons, the school held a classroom door decoration project that was judged by district professionals and school faculty. A concert featuring sixth-grade band members and the high school marching band was also a part of the day’s program.
"The best part is seeing the parents get involved and take time out for their children," Camporeale said.
As the two bands segued into a spirited rendition of the Village People’s "YMCA," high school marching band director Deb Knisely opened her arms to embrace Goldzman, Boxer and David Weintraub, the district’s supervisor of fine arts and public relations.
The group clapped their hands in time to the music as Sean Rafferty, 7, a student in Jill Dobrowansky’s second-grade class, shimmied to the beat of the music while dressed as a dinosaur.
Young and old, the event offered activities in which everyone could participate, while also serving as a means of raising funds for the Oak Street Philanthropic Fund, which helps needy students and parents in the Oak Street School community. Anyone wishing to make a donation to that cause can contact Susan Goldzman at (732) 905-3670.