50p
A Brentonian Halloween
As the blue moon rose over the shores of Mill Bay last weekend, Brentwood students dressed up in costume, carved pumpkins, and took part in a school-wide scavenger hunt. Don’t be mistaken however, for these activities were not nearly as exciting as the real highlight of October 31st, 2020.
The on-campus staff and their families had Halloween plans of their own.
In the past, campus families exploded out of the gates of Brentwood and journeyed across the Cowichan Valley - and beyond - in search of goodies to satisfy their trick-or-treating appetites. This year, of course, had to be very different. In the interest of the safety of the Brentwood community, the staff’s little’uns were set free to tear up the town, on campus, this fall evening.
A survey was sent out to all staff living on campus, to determine who would be providing goodies for the crop of kiddies making their way about campus on Saturday night. It is safe to say that the responses were as everyone hoped they would be - booming.
This allowed for a plethora of Brentwood children to go from door to door of the houses, in search of loot to fill anything from bags, to buckets, to pillow cases. The candy distributors had prepared little baggies, or bundles of sweets for each trick-or-treater, so as to avoid dozens of tiny hands all cramming into the same boxes and bowls in one night. Door knocking was also made available upon request, giving everyone a chance to check out the delightful - or in some cases delightfully spooky - costumes.
The DS, Hope crew were a highlight starring Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star-Lord and Drax the Destroyer, courtesy of Massimo and Floriana. The trio was topped off by young Luca, dressed as a Blue Man - an outfit he will be using lots in his future as a Privett House boy.
The little W’s, Alex also strutted their stuff as another trio. Sullivan sported his Panda outfit, while Finley dressed as the lovely Princess Rapunzel. Baby Brooks pulled it all together in the cutest little red bird suit you ever did see.
Margot and Gavin A, Allard suited up in a rather peculiar costume pairing, with Margot as Elsa from Frozen, and Gavin as a scurvy pirate. Their fellow Allard House dwellers were a bit of trouble to track down on Halloween. I received no response from Mr Smith, despite my pleas for photos of his little army of rascals dressed in their Halloween best. I do not blame him, however, because I understand that having to dress, entertain, and limit the supply of candy to five children on Halloween could be quite the handful. It is safe to assume that the Smith quintet had a great evening!
The Ellis House inhabitants provided us with a wide variety of getups. Beatrix sunk her teeth into her cheetah costume, with her brother Niall dressed head to toe in camouflage, playing the role of a brave soldier. Stella dove all the way back into 1665 to replicate the Johannes Vermeer masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” while Cormac pulled off possibly the most appropriate costume of this Halloween, dressed as a 17th century plague doctor.
Over the past year, Brentwood has certainly exceeded expectations in making the best out of the situation we face, and our on-campus families have led the charge. A special thank you goes out to Mr Wismer for the work he did in organizing such a spooktacular evening for the next generation of Brentonians. No child should ever have to miss out on Halloween fun.
Jack NG, Ellis ‘21
The on-campus staff and their families had Halloween plans of their own.
In the past, campus families exploded out of the gates of Brentwood and journeyed across the Cowichan Valley - and beyond - in search of goodies to satisfy their trick-or-treating appetites. This year, of course, had to be very different. In the interest of the safety of the Brentwood community, the staff’s little’uns were set free to tear up the town, on campus, this fall evening.
A survey was sent out to all staff living on campus, to determine who would be providing goodies for the crop of kiddies making their way about campus on Saturday night. It is safe to say that the responses were as everyone hoped they would be - booming.
This allowed for a plethora of Brentwood children to go from door to door of the houses, in search of loot to fill anything from bags, to buckets, to pillow cases. The candy distributors had prepared little baggies, or bundles of sweets for each trick-or-treater, so as to avoid dozens of tiny hands all cramming into the same boxes and bowls in one night. Door knocking was also made available upon request, giving everyone a chance to check out the delightful - or in some cases delightfully spooky - costumes.
The DS, Hope crew were a highlight starring Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star-Lord and Drax the Destroyer, courtesy of Massimo and Floriana. The trio was topped off by young Luca, dressed as a Blue Man - an outfit he will be using lots in his future as a Privett House boy.
The little W’s, Alex also strutted their stuff as another trio. Sullivan sported his Panda outfit, while Finley dressed as the lovely Princess Rapunzel. Baby Brooks pulled it all together in the cutest little red bird suit you ever did see.
Margot and Gavin A, Allard suited up in a rather peculiar costume pairing, with Margot as Elsa from Frozen, and Gavin as a scurvy pirate. Their fellow Allard House dwellers were a bit of trouble to track down on Halloween. I received no response from Mr Smith, despite my pleas for photos of his little army of rascals dressed in their Halloween best. I do not blame him, however, because I understand that having to dress, entertain, and limit the supply of candy to five children on Halloween could be quite the handful. It is safe to assume that the Smith quintet had a great evening!
The Ellis House inhabitants provided us with a wide variety of getups. Beatrix sunk her teeth into her cheetah costume, with her brother Niall dressed head to toe in camouflage, playing the role of a brave soldier. Stella dove all the way back into 1665 to replicate the Johannes Vermeer masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” while Cormac pulled off possibly the most appropriate costume of this Halloween, dressed as a 17th century plague doctor.
Over the past year, Brentwood has certainly exceeded expectations in making the best out of the situation we face, and our on-campus families have led the charge. A special thank you goes out to Mr Wismer for the work he did in organizing such a spooktacular evening for the next generation of Brentonians. No child should ever have to miss out on Halloween fun.
Jack NG, Ellis ‘21
75p
