On October 28, 2016, students of the Shanksville-Stonycreek School District Elementary arrived to school in their unique costumes and with an abundance of excitement for the Fall Harvest festivities.

Fall Harvest is a day for students to make themselves look like of their favorite characters and celebrate the fall season. The idea for the event developed when faculty noticed several students in Shanksville school had never celebrated Halloween. Teachers from the Shanksville Elementary formed an idea to make the Halloween festivities educational and fun and named it Fall Harvest.

This event  has occurred for several years and continues to be an annual tradition. The day usually included parading through the school in their character outfits and exchanging candy and snacks with fellow students.

“Fall Festival is always fun,” says Emma Ferko, grade 5. “Everyone gets to dress up like a character and the best part is the party and all of the sweets!”

This year Fall Harvest fell on Friday, October 28th. The students arrived to school filled with excitement and dressed in their unique costumes. They celebrated the holiday by exchanging candy and snacks amongst their classmates. The festivities began with a Fall Harvest Parade through the school, so high school students and faculty could admire the extraordinary costumes.

After the parade, the students returned to their classrooms to have regular classes until the afternoon. The fun continued in the afternoon with exchanging goodies with friends and watching festive movies.

“I love Fall Harvest days not only for all the candy and goodies but to see what characters the  students find to dress up as, helps to find books that match what they are interested in,” says Gail Edwards.

All of the elementary students enjoy getting to dress up for Fall Harvest every year and it nevers seems to outgrow the older students.

“Today was a pretty easy day, since all we did was take a science test. It was just a break to have fun with friends, getting to dress up in your costume and getting to eat candy,” stated Kori Boozer.

Fall Harvest is an annual occurrence at the Shanksville-Stonycreek Elementary, for all of the students to take part in. The candy and sweets, holiday movies, and costumes make the event complete with excitement and fun.