September 18, 2026

Dear Lower School Families,

Students are already getting excited about our fall and Halloween activities, which take place on Friday, October 30. We look forward to a fun day and want to share some details to help you plan accordingly.

Each homeroom grade will share its plans with you in early October, and it is important to read the specific grade-level plans carefully from your children’s homeroom teachers.

Arriving to School

Halloween will be celebrated in the Lower School on Friday, October 30. With the exception of Explorers, all other lower-schoolers who choose to dress up should come to school in costume on that Friday. Explorer students will change into costumes before their parade.

Costumes

Please review our costume guidelines below:

• Students come to school in their costumes, so please plan accordingly, as they will wear them all day
• No weapons (real or pretend) of any kind are allowed
• No inflatable (blow-up) costumes that require batteries or fans
• Costumes must be respectful of other cultures and people
• No blood or gory costumes
• Faces must be visible (cannot wear a mask that hides the face completely)
• It is important to remember that we have Explorers through Grade 5 students, and we want to ensure a fun and appropriate environment for all of our community

Parent Cider Social

We invite all lower school parents and guardians to join us (weather permitting) on the dining hall patio for some apple cider. This will be before each student parade.

• Explorers and PreK Social: 10:15-10:45 a.m. (parade at 11:00 a.m.)
• Kindergarten-Grade 5 Social: 1:45-2:35 p.m. (parade at 2:40 p.m.)

Parade

The Kindergarten-Grade 5 parade will take place in the Lazarus Courtyard (outside the dining hall). Parents should gather in the grassy area, and students will parade around the perimeter on the sidewalk. We ask that parents stay in the grassy area for the duration of the parade. We will make one lap.

All students return to their homeroom class at the end of the parade. Please plan on meeting your children in their homeroom class at 3:15 p.m. For safety reasons, do not take children from the parade line.

End-of-Day Dismissal

• Bus: students will go to the bus as usual at the end of the day
• CASE: students will go to CASE as usual at the end of the day
• Carline: please collect your children from their homeroom class at 3:15 p.m.

If your children do not observe Halloween, or you do not want them to participate, please let their homeroom teachers know a week in advance.

Warm Regards,

Mark L. Hansen

Head of Lower School