Halloween happiness at Brooklyn’s P.S. 127

Costume parade, pumpkin decorating contest highlight day of fun

October 31, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

This sweet kitten marches in the school yard parade alongside a cheerleader. Eagle photos by Paula Katinas

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There was magic in the air at P.S. 127 on Friday morning. For one thing, Principal Agatha Alicandro had turned into a lady bug. Assistant Principal Kerry Izzo Quaglione was a kitten.

But if their students were surprised by the turn of events, they didn’t show it. After all, the kids had turned into princesses, pirates, police officers, robots and cowboys when they showed up for school.

It was all part of Halloween fun at the school, located at 7805 Seventh Ave. in Bay Ridge. Administrators, teachers and students celebrated Halloween by hosting a costume parade in the school yard and holding a pumpkin decorating contest in the cafeteria.

The day started off with the parade. Led by their teachers, children merrily made their way around the track showing off their costumes to parents and other visitors as sound system played the theme from the “Addams Family,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” “Boogie Man,” “I Put a Spell on You,” and other festive songs.

Next up was the pumpkin decorating contest. Katrina Cosentino, superintendent of schools in District 20 in Brooklyn, served as the judge. She inspected pumpkins that looked like witches, mice, snowmen and characters from “Despicable Me.”

The contest brought out the creative side in the students. “It’s wonderful to see that a child can look at a pumpkin and imagine it as something else entirely,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle. She was having a difficult time picking the winners.

At one point, state Sen. Marty Golden arrived to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southwest Brooklyn) said he got a kick out of the decorated pumpkins.

Alicandro said the children themselves selected the contest finalists. “All of our students painted pumpkins. And then each class voted for the best pumpkin in the class,” she told the Eagle. The winner in each class took part in the finals where they were judged by the superintendent.

The winners, who were to be announced at a later time, were to be awarded gift certificates to Toys R Us.

While the contest was fun, it was also an educational experience, according to Alicandro, who said the children learned a lot during the process. “They got the chance to vote. They took part in roundtable discussions. They learned that their voices count,” she said.