A “Monstrous” Weekend at Barnett and James Dukes Elementary Schools

Last weekend, Barnett Elementary and James Dukes Elementary hosted their annual Monster Mash celebrations for their respective school families. The spooktacular event at Barnett was held on Friday, October 18, and at James Dukes, their frightfully fun night was Saturday, October 19.

According to Barnett’s PTA President, Jamie McGilvray, there were many who made their event a success: 4th/5th combination teacher Hayley Brinker, Emily Whigham, Sharon Ferguson, Kelly Arellano, Vivian Carrillo, Kelsey Joaquin, who made the event flyer, Morgan Dixon, Letty Spicuzza, Claudia Contreras, Sina Thomas, and Ari Hill-Battey. “This event was a team effort to put together, but I was the main point of contact and organized some of the volunteer efforts,” says McGilvray.

School staff helped at the event, and 6th-grade teachers ran a bake sale to raise funds for the 6th-grade camp. 5th-grade teachers ran a soda float sale to raise funds for 4th and 5th graders going on their Biz Town field trip. Interim Principal Mrs. Grace was in attendance with her husband, Mr. Robert Grace, who DJed for the night. According to McGilvray, there were approximately 350 to 400 people in attendance.

Carnival games were planned and constructed by the 4th & 5th grade students during the school week. This was a tradition in years pre-Covid, and they brought it back this year. Traditionally, students run these games at Monster Mash as well as on Halloween for the kindergarten students. The art teacher, Mrs. Riedler, painted a fun monster box where they collected candy donations for the 4th and 5th graders to hand out to game contestants at Monster Mash.

Last year, Mrs. Riedler traced fun characters on cardboard boxes for the students to paint on in art class. They reused those boxes this year where students could create different “monsters” with various faces, bodies, and feet.

Students submitted painted or carved pumpkins for a pumpkin carving contest, and each student was given a ticket to vote on their favorite pumpkin. The 1st place winner was Isaiah Hayes in Kindergarten with his Padres Pumpkin.

“We had a Haunted Trail, with fun sensory boxes, constructed behind our MPR, and it was a huge hit,” says McGilvray.

The most rewarding part of the event for McGilvray was seeing pictures on social media of her friends and family at the event. She was happy to see them enjoying that for which they had worked so hard to plan. She also enjoyed seeing the 4th and 5th graders taking pride in the games they constructed and helping other students play them.

“The kids love any excuse to get together, dress up, and dance. Even my two oldest children, who were promoted from Barnett a few years ago, love coming back for these events! It’s a fun family evening!” says McGilvray.

James Duke’s Elementary School PTA Board has been putting their event on for over 20 years. This year’s event was a collective effort from staff, the PTA Board, students, and volunteers from the community who put on a successful event for the over 600 people in attendance.

There were over 23 activities, including inflatable sports games, a cannon blaster, laser tag, and carnival booths. Families also enjoyed a petting zoo, cake walk, photos with three lovely llamas, hula hoops, the haunted trail, a chili contest, a baseball throw, face painting, a caricature artist, and Scottso the Clown making balloon animals. They also had a San Diego Sheriff booth with our local Ramona Deputies, who stopped by for some photos and mingling. All activities were included in the $20 wristband price.

Food trucks were on site selling delicious eats. “We had Cowbell Kitchen, Pizza Break making pizzas and snow cones, and a hot churro booth,” said a PTA member.

James Dukes Principal Deborah Long was present and running booths. The front desk staff was on hand running the ticketing table, and 6th-grade teacher Mr. McNiff ran the annual Chili Cook-Off event. One of the CSOs, Ryan Doherty, volunteered to monitor the event to ensure safety and provide any help needed. The school custodian, Dani Breshears, helped with set-up and clean-up.

The 6th-grade class puts together the Haunted Trail each year as a fundraiser for their 6th-grade camp. The 6th-grade haunted trail started in 2018 in the Alice Lynch Nature Center, and, at the time, it was overgrown and unused. This year, the trail was bigger and better than ever. The students decorated the nature trail with spooky decorations and played roles, such as trail guides and character actors who scared people on the tour. Parents helped with all aspects.

The Scarecrow contest was open to all students who wanted to participate alone, in a group, or as a class. They created a scarecrow using any materials available, and then the teachers and staff who are PTA members voted on their top three scarecrows. The winners were announced at the Monster Mash. There were nine entries, and everyone got an award or a participation ribbon. Everyone did a great job, and their work was displayed at the Monster Mash for all to appreciate.

DJ Mark Weber played fun music to keep the party going and helped make announcements. All the activities were outside on the lower field playground, with ticketing and the chili cook-off contest in the multipurpose room.

These Halloween festivities would not be possible without the dedication of so many families, volunteers, and school staff members. The spooky events were eerily exciting and brought together students, teachers, and families for a ghoulishly good time.

Photos courtesy of Barnett PTA President Jamie McGilvary and James Dukes' PTA.