By Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer
Photo/Mary Ellen Duggan
Northborough – Robert E. Melican Middle School’s Halloween celebration served two purposes – it generated a lot of school spirit and raised money for the Northborough Food Pantry.
Principal Michelle Karb said that faculty, staff, bus drivers and students were invited to dress up on the two days before Halloween weekend to include students in both cohorts in the hybrid learning model.
“We have not dressed up for Halloween at the middle school for over 20 years!” said Karb. “We hoped to generate some school spirit and pair the event with collecting donations for the Northborough Food Pantry. We know food insecurity has been significant during the pandemic.”
The idea was generated by Karb and Assistant Principal Jen Callahan.
“We appreciate the hard work of the Food Pantry and we understand how food insecurity impacts many of our students, so this seemed like a good match,” said Karb.
Staff and students were excited that a total of $500 was collected.
Spirit events, like the Halloween event, bring some normalcy back to a school year that is anything but normal.
“We wanted to do one this year connected to Halloween to generate some school spirit and to give back to the wonderful community in a very concrete way,” said Karb.
Future spirit days may include a pajama day in December to raise money for gifts for families in need, and another event in November to raise more money for the food pantry.
Northborough Food Pantry Directors Vickie Killeen and Karen Scopetski are grateful for the donation, which will be used to help purchase food for the 75-80 families helped each week.
“The people in Northborough have been so very generous with donating money and dropping off food items during such difficult times,” said Killeen. “We are truly blessed to have such amazing people here in Northborough who continue such great work to keep this pantry fully stocked with their caring generosity.”
The Northborough Food Pantry is run by volunteers. View the website for additional information or to make a donations on line at www.nfpantry.org.
