Seneca High School hosted its annual trick-or-treat event on Halloween day.
It was a school full of ghouls on Halloween as Seneca High School hosted its annual trick-or-treat event.
Seneca has been providing local children the opportunity to have a safe trick-or-treating experience since 2008.
Coordinated by the Renaissance Club, advisors Sandy Langan, Jamie Meyers and Kasey Makowski are the main organizers behind the event, and asked that each child in attendance donate a canned good for Seneca’s Food Pantry.
This year’s event was on Halloween from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and featured games in the “carnival hall,” mazes, pizza and, of course, candy — with the walls lined with decorations made entirely by the 27 clubs that volunteered to be involved.
The clubs involved at this year’s event were Renaissance, Chamber Singers, Science League, Art Honor Society, Color Guard, Spanish Club, Anime Club, JROTC, Robotics, Nurses, Interact, National Honor Society, Art Club, Environmental Club, Latin Club, Gymnastics, American Sign Language, Psychology Club, Buddies Club, Student Council, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Future Business Leaders of America, Marketing Club, Class of 2019, Class of 2020, Class of 2021 and Class of 2022.
Junior Brooke Parry, who volunteers with Buddies Club and is president of Interact Club, has volunteered at the trick-or-treating event throughout her entire high school experience.
“I just like seeing all the kids and being involved at Seneca High School means a lot to me. I just like volunteering and being involved in the community — that means the most to me,” Parry said. “Everyone is so welcoming, it’s like a family here at Seneca.”
Each year, invitations are sent to surrounding pre-schools and grade schools to welcome the children to walk the halls of Seneca on Halloween.
“The community sees these kids are great here, they’re wonderful, and that the clubs come together, we’re all here.” Langan said. “A lot of them are going to grow up to attend Seneca and say ‘hey, I went trick-or-treating here when I was little.’”
Although this is a fun opportunity for area children to get familiar with their future high school, not only children from Tabernacle and Shamong are invited to this event each year, children from all towns gather to celebrate this spooky holiday.
Similar trick-or-treat events are held throughout the Lenape Regional High School District, however, it is an especially important event for those living in the Pinelands.
“There’s not really neighborhoods where kids can just run ahead and go trick-or-treating with their parents walking behind because a lot of kids live way off the road and not everybody lives in a neighborhood,” Meyers said. “So we did this, especially for the little kids to give them a safe place to trick-or-treat.”
Each year brings in an average of 600 trick-or-treaters for an afternoon of fun with family and friends, while strengthening the bond between Seneca students and the younger children in the community.
“This is a safe environment for them and everyone who volunteers is so sweet and kind, it’s an awesome experience for everyone involved,” Parry said.
