Project Pumpkin A Community Event

Julia DiCienzio and Hannah Boben in the haunted hallway of project pumpkin. Veritas file photo

Carolyn McCarthy, Veritas Staff

With kids in costumes, hallways filled with candy, a jumpy house, and even a haunted hallway, you could find all the excitement of Halloween combined in one place.
On Oct. 25, this year’s Project Pumpkin, sponsored by the Student Government Council, took place throughout the halls of Rockland High School.

Project Pumpkin is a night for families living in or around Rockland to take their children for early trick-or-treating, activities, and a scare.

Project Pumpkin includes trick-or-treating stations on each floor of the school. It also includes a haunted hallway for kids to go down on their way to the gym where they could take part in face painting, coloring, and a jumpy house, and get a picture with Cinderella and her Prince Charming.

Project Pumpkin is a community service project for RHS students to participate in. Many students helped out with donating candy and with setting up props.
After starting off with a mild interruption to take care of a fog machine mishap in the haunted hallway, the night went on as a success run by junior, Shawn Ward.
Ward is the student services committee chair for SGC. He is in charge of many events that go on throughout the school.
Ward says he enjoys having the job of Project Pumpkin which gives back to the community and is also fun for students who take part in it.

He said the most difficult part in organizing for this event was “deadlines.” He explained, “They were difficult along with making sure people showed up and that everything ran smoothly.”
Mrs. Mulready, math teacher and student government assistant advisor, also had a lot of praise for this exciting event put on by the SGC.

“I attended Project Pumpkin years ago when my children were small and Rockland did not allow trick-or-treating. It was a wonderful program that allowed kids to “trick-or-treat” safely. I was always a fan and last year when I became an SGC advisor I had the chance to really get involved in the planning and the operation of the entire event.”
Mrs. Mulready said that planning the event can be very stressful considering the number of families that attend. “Shawn is very involved in SGC and very excited about overseeing Project Pumpkin. He is detail-oriented and has worked hard to come up with new ideas and plan what will be an awesome time for all. Of course it will be a huge success!” she added.

Project Pumpkin is one of many events held in Rockland that people from other towns are welcome to go to.
Holbrook resident Lauren Costa decided to bring her children for a fun-filled evening at the school.

“My nieces attend the school and told me of the event. Although the kids and I don’t live in Rockland, we feel as though we are a part of two communities: Holbrook (our home town) and the South Shore as a whole. Therefore, we love taking advantage of local events, whether it be something more geared towards the kids, the Pumpkin Project, or a local 5k race for fundraising/awareness,” Costa said.

At the end of their trick or treating in the hallways, Costa said she and her kids “enjoyed that the high school kids were kind and polite. They were respectful and really sweet to the younger children.”
Project Pumpkin this year was a successful event that offered many children a night to share the Halloween spirit with a great group of RHS students.

Follow this link for the Veritas Photo Gallery of this colorful and fun event!