On Halloween, McNicholas High School invites students and faculty to dress up in celebration of the holiday. Director of Student Life and math teacher Mr. Bill Losekamp said that students may be out of uniform for Halloween, as long as they are dressed up and following the dress code guidelines. This includes no crocs, slippers or sandals for safety reasons. However, students are able to wear masks as long as they are not covering the full face. For example, a masquerade mask could be worn, but a mask from the Scream movies would not be permitted. Administrative Assistant Principal Bob Noll, Mrs. Jennifer Tumser said that she “[doesn’t] love the idea of masks,” but wants students to be more creative with their costumes.
Students at McNick have mixed feelings on the Halloween dress code. Freshman Quinn McHugh said the dress code should be altered because “we are all in high school,” referring to traditional scary costumes that might require fake blood. Yet, senior Lucy Laudeman believes that students would take advantage of any changes made to the dress code. Junior Fletcher Pyles said that he thinks students would enjoy having a spirit week for Halloween with different themes to dress up in.
Losekamp said that he wants to see kids be creative with costumes this year and “not just throw something on.” He thinks it is fun when students dress up as teachers, with teacher permission of course. Tumser stated that she enjoys puns as costumes and used a former costume of hers as an example. She was a social butterfly, with wings and social media apps attached to her shirt. She also said that she wants kids to “be creative, have fun, live in the moment, and not be so self-conscience dressing up.”
Administrative Assistant to Principal Bob Noll, Mrs. Jenni Tumser dressed up as a “social butterfly” for Halloween in 2023. She said she enjoys costumes that are puns, so she DIYed this costume by attaching wings and social media apps to her homemade t-shirt.
Junior Lexi Richmond said that she’s debating dressing up for school because she does not want to make or buy a new costume that would meet the schools dress code requirements, and McHugh said that if he cannot wear his mask he will not be dressing up. On the other hand, Laudeman said she will dress up for school because she is “not lame” and it is her last opportunity to dress up for school.
Students like Laudeman, Pyles, and Richmond are doing couple costumes, and some like McHugh said they may do a group costume. Losekamp and Tumser said they are keeping their costume a secret until October 31.
On October 26, McNicholas hosted Boo Fest for Mt. Washington and the surrounding area. Students who are members of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at McNicholas dressed up in their best costumes in celebration of Halloween to pass out candy.
Losekamp said he wants to leave all violent and gory costumes in the past, and Tumser said she just wants to see some creativity, and added, “please do not dress up in pjs kids.” Some of the faculty members’ favorite costumes from past years have been teachers, historical figures, and a Hershey kiss costume that Tumser’s grandma made her when she was a child.
With sticking in the dress code students have many options they could dress up as without spending money.
The McNicholas Milestone 