The Woodstock Elementary School and Prosper Valley School’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) will be taking over the responsibility of collecting and distributing trick-or-treat candy for Woodstock’s Village Halloween festivities this year.
A responsibility that previously lay with the Woodstock Village Board of Trustees will now fall to the PTO. Using the $1,500 set aside by the Woodstock Selectboard and Trustees ($750 each), the PTO will purchase and collect candy.
Holly Gaspar of the PTO, who is spearheading this initiative, spoke to the Standard about why the PTO felt the need to volunteer their services in this matter. She said, “The PTO is often thought of as supporting school-based activities — book fairs, teacher appreciation events — that which exists within the confines of the school. We are trying to expand the reach of the PTO to extend into our town. We want our kids to see an authentic and proud connection between their school and their village. Since we are parents of the children taking advantage of the safe and wonderful Halloween night in Woodstock, it makes sense for the PTO to take ownership of the candy distribution this year.”
Each Halloween, Woodstock Village closes off Maple and High Street, provides candy for the homes on those streets, and offers not only the children of Woodstock, but the neighboring towns, a safe place for kids to trick-or-treat. Chair of the Woodstock Village Board of Trustees, Seton Mcllroy, told the Standard, “It is important for us to have a space our kids can go after dark and be safe. It would be so easy for children to wander onto Route 4 in the dark during Halloween. However, by blocking off certain streets and establishing a perimeter for kids to explore and experience the fun of trick-or-treat, children are able to roam around while parents remain calm, knowing their children are safe. This is such an important component to our town, which is why the trustees have not minded handling the collection and distribution of candy in years past. It does, however, require a lot of dedication and manpower. It is wonderful the superstars of the PTO agreed to take over this responsibility. With them, we feel another fun and safe Halloween will be held in the village.”
For more on this, please see our August 21 edition of the Vermont Standard.
