Stella L., Dr. Bundy, and Lauren G. (Courtesy/Angela H.)

A thrill ran through Columbus Academy on Tuesday, October 31, as the upper school celebrated Halloween, some dressing up as Barbie, the queen, and even Percy Jackson. 

Parents from each upper grade levels surprised the students with a deluge brownies, cupcakes, and a wide variety of candy. 

Festivities began on the previous Friday, October 27, when the lower school celebrated its annual Halloween parade. Dressed-up children in the 3-year-old program through the fifth grade promenaded around the quad, much to the delight of their parents and the upper school faculty and students. Popular costumes included Barbie, Lionel Messi, and Special Forces members. My favorite wasa character from the Liberty Mutual advertisements, wearing a yellow taxicab made of cardboard draped around them.

Our upper school costumes were no less impressive. People dressed as animals, witches, and movie and video game characters. Dr. Bundy may have had the most impressive outfit, as she donned herself in full colonial garb.

It was a bittersweet day for seniors, our last Halloween of high school, as next year we will be at college, trying to navigate a new stage of our lives. Although I did not go trick-or-treating this year, I had the pleasure of handing out candy and seeing all the little kids running around in giddy excitement over their bags of treats. No longer a youngster on Beggars Night, my transition from receiver to a giver was an exciting yet daunting prospect.