What started as a fun Halloween-themed activity has since turned into a favorite annual tradition: the Pierce Downer Haunted House Competition! For the past seven years, the school has invited students to design a haunted house using a shoebox and simple decorations and accessories. Students can create the haunted house individually or partner with one other Pierce Downer student.
The week before Halloween, each haunted house is displayed in the LRC, and students can vote for their favorite! To prevent bias, student names are not listed on the haunted houses.
“It’s a wonderful activity,” said LRC Teacher Lucy Elford. “The haunted houses really reflect each student’s creativity!”
This year, Pierce Downer received 87 haunted house submissions. Participants submitted their projects on Monday and Tuesday, and all students and staff voted later in the week.
During the voting, Ms. Elford set the mood by playing some spooky Halloween music and projected Halloween imagery onto a screen.
When Ms. Ali Mitchell’s second graders (featured in these photos) filed into the LRC, they eagerly awaited for Ms. Elford to start the voting. They thoughtfully looked all the haunted houses over before casting their ballots.
“Each haunted house has something exciting to offer. The children have so much fun looking at them and voting for one,” Ms. Elford said.