Smiling for Halloween

Snacks are put out on tables. Food and drinks were brought by Stepping Out Club members for the party. The party was celebrating Halloween. Photo courtesy of Lauren Kurtzer.

Stepping Out Club’s Halloween party brought smiles to all members’ faces. During the party the members:

Ate cupcakes, chips, cookies and drank soda, water and fruit punch
Got mummified by toilet paper or mummified someone
Participated in a costume contest

The food was brought in by Stepping Out Club participants.

One of the groups had four people wrapped in toilet paper together.

Anyone who dressed up walked around in a circle as the judges; the Stepping Out board and teachers decided who won certain awards according to their costume.

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“Dressing up was my favorite part,” said T.J. Gerrety, 12, who dressed up as a king of spades. “I also enjoyed the food.”

Costumes consisted of:

Batman
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Roman Soldier
Mario
King of Spades
Disco Girl
Skelton
Bunny
Peter Pan

“It was a fun time to see everyone wearing their costumes because they worked so hard,” said Alison Carrey, 12.

Ryan Higgins, 9 stands after being mummified in toilet paper. He enjoyed being wrapped but it was hard standing still. Part of the party’s activities was wrapping people in toilet paper. Photo courtesy of Lauren Kurtzer. — **Ryan Higgins**, 9, stands after being mummified in toilet paper. He enjoyed being wrapped but it was hard standing still. Part of the party’s activities was wrapping people in toilet paper. Photo courtesy of Lauren Kurtzer.

All positive reviews for the party were said. Just like Halloween, all faces of the Trick-or-Treaters had a big cheesy smile.

“The party was wonderful. We had a great turnout of students, new to the club and returning.” said Miss Lindsay Schroeder, Special Education teacher and advisor of the club.

“The highlight for me was seeing students’ faces light up when they received an award for their costumes,” said Schroeder .

For just a little bit of time, all that mattered was keeping smiles on everyone’s’ faces.

Get nervous or feel uncomfortable when around kids with disabilities? Here are few tips to keep the cool.

Focus on what they CAN do, not what they have trouble accomplishing:

Be patient
Ask what they like, how their day was etc.
Never ask their situation
Keep a positive attitude
Don’t wander off with your friends, they can tell that you don’t want to be with them

About the Contributor

Lauren Kurtzer, Creative Projects Director

Hi! My name is Lauren Kurtzer and I am a senior here at SHS; thus making it my fourth year in convergence journalism. Looking back on everything I learned and done in room 115, I can not believe it went by that quickly. Being on the staff of The Leaf I have picked up many skills on writing, design, and leadership that I can take to the future. I learned many of those skills through leadership positions of feature chief sophomore year; associate editor junior year, where I made sure articles are up to AP Style; creative projects director this year, I am part of a team that works on the major cover stories like the crazy election. I have written and designed for all four of our platforms. For the past three years, I have also written a sports column on every issue; I cover the morale issues of the NFL and my teams the Reds, Bengals and Buckeyes. Outside of room 115, I am the co-captain of the dance team I have been on for four years, the Flyerettes. I am also heavily involved in the Jewish community. I am the Programming Vice President for my temple’s youth group, which is a part of NFTY Ohio Valley, and the Social Action Programmer for Young Judaea Midwest youth movement. On Sundays, I am a madricha or assistant teacher at my Religious School.