McVey Elementary School hosts a successful Halloween Howl

Just two days before Halloween, hundreds of students filled McVey Elementary School to participate in a glow-in-the-dark dance party, haunted walk-through called the Spooky Walk and raffles and food from multiple local businesses.

“This year we had an alien spaceship land here,” said Principal Kerry Dunne as she showed the Herald throw the Spooky Walk. A replica spaceship stood among an elaborately decorated Halloween landscape with a not-so-scary path and an enclosed attraction for the braver students. Inside, student alumni and teachers are dressed as monsters and ghouls to scare guests.

The McVey Halloween Howl also serves as a food drive for the school’s needy families and a raffle that raises funds for school giveback programs. Christina Ratkewitch and Justin Weiss, both district parents, chaired the event that is run through the McVey Parent Teacher’s Association.

Ratkewitch, who has been running the event for 8 years, says that she begins planning in July by seeking out businesses to volunteer food and raffle prizes. “It’s such a great time and a safe event for the kids to celebrate Halloween,” she said.