Several Harris County Department of Education divisions embraced the spooky spirit of Halloween on Tuesday with activities including a cake walk, face painting, and a pumpkin decorating contest.
Academic and Behavior School West
Academic and Behavior School West students donned costumes and smiles at the school’s annual fall festival. Leaders transformed the campus into a fun space with creative decorations, spooky tunes, and a wide selection of door prizes. During their physical education class, behavior and life skills students participated in a basketball dunk contest, candy corn bowling, an obstacle course, and more. Elementary and life-skills students were encouraged to wear costumes, with many choosing their favorite superhero or movie character. Faculty and staff at all Special Schools joined the fun, sporting their own costumes, which included inflatable animals and witches.
Business Services
This year, HCDE’s purchasing and finance employees are giving back to Harris County’s youngest learners while celebrating Halloween. The division’s annual pumpkin decorating contest tasked five teams with turning an ordinary globe into a character from their favorite children’s book.
Employees embraced the theme wholeheartedly, with one team drawing inspiration from David Shannon’s book “A Bad Case of Stripes.” Another looked ahead to the Christmas holiday, turning their gourd into The Grinch from Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Lost Christmas.”
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jesus Amezcua, a volunteer with Head Start’s Real SuperMENtors Read program, asked that the books associated with the decorating contest be donated to Compton Head Start. Amezcua and executive leadership team members deemed Team 3 the contest winner with their pumpkin inspired by “The Adventures of Captain Underpants” by Dav Pilkey.