This year's Trunk or Treat event will take place on Friday, October 29, 2021 (no rain-date) and please note that COVID Protocols will be in effect for this event, therefore event plans are subject to change.

Trunk-or-Treat is a fun, safe, and convenient way for Swain students and families to celebrate Halloween and trick-or-treat. Families decorate tables and trunks in the theme of their choice so that students may walk around and see the decorations and receive treats. A list of candy and non-candy suggestions is provided to families in advance. The list provides allergen-free options so that all students can safely participate. In addition to the trick-or-treating festivities, the students will participate in various fun activities throughout the day, including relay races, bounce house obstacle courses, community service, and more! 

*Accommodations will be made for students not wishing to participate in Halloween festivities. 

Protocols/restrictions for Trunk-or-Treat 2021 at Swain

All volunteers on-campus will need to be masked outdoors. You may not enter the building, but the Swain House will be available to use the restroom. 

If you are decorating a trunk or table, your space will be marked to be properly distanced from the car next to you. We ask that you stay at your trunk/table and not congregate with other parents that are in attendance. 

There will NOT be a school-wide parade this year. You are welcome to host a trunk/table though if you’d like to see your child parade through and grab some treats. 

Only the volunteers that sign up for a trunk, table, station, set-up, or tear-down are permitted on-campus. We still welcome the extended community of Swain to sign-up for these slots! (We’ve seen some amazing trunks by grandparents, babysitters, aunts/uncles, etc.) Because of this, we will try to open more trunk slots than in past years, to try and include as many community members as possible. 

We will have sanitizing stations set up outside for your use. As students walk through the trunk area, they will sanitize before entering and when they exit. They are allowed to get their treat individually from each trunk, so please keep that in mind when you are setting up. 

Costumes

Students will not be able to change into their costumes in the restrooms. They will need to come into school dressed (mostly) in their costume for the day. If they need to put on a headband (I.e. cat ears or a crown) they can do so while at school but their clothing must be their costume. Please keep that in mind when selecting your child’s costume. 

Overly grotesque, scary, or gory costumes will not be permitted. Please keep in mind that we have 3 years old on campus with 8th graders and so we’d like to keep all costumes age-appropriate. No fake weapons of any kind are allowed. 

Masks – as per usual, your child will be wearing an appropriate face-covering inside the building so any additional face mask will not be permitted as part of the costume. If you’d like to get creative and get an approved face covering that is also Halloween-themed or matches their costume, you are welcome to do so. Please keep in mind the types of face masks that are permitted in school (For instance, a neck gaiter would not be a suitable face covering, and therefore couldn’t be part of their costume.)

Grades Preschool-Pre-Kindergarten

Families will volunteer to decorate a trick-or-treat table for students to parade by and collect treats. We ask there be no more than two adults per table and each adult must be masked. Tables will be set up outside in the “Tree Grove” area, near their playground, spaced appropriately. We have a lot of space to use in this area, so we encourage all families to get involved in this highlight of the festivities! As always, all adults are encouraged to dress up in costume! These grades will have other in-class activities, such as a craft and special treats to enjoy. These trick-or-treating festivities for preschool and prekindergarten will happen in the morning, so if you sign-up to decorate a table, please be prepared to start setting up right after drop-off. Please note that this is the only time you can see the kids “parade” through the tables – there will not be a separate Halloween parade.

Volunteer by signing up here!

Kindergarten-Grade 8

Trunk or Treat: Families volunteer to decorate the trunk of a vehicle for students to parade by and collect treats. We ask there be no more than two adults per vehicle and both adults must be masked. Vehicles will be parked in the McCann Center parking lot spaced appropriately and we ask that volunteers stay at their trunks and do not congregate with other volunteers. Students will sanitize their hands when they enter this area and when they exit. They will be grabbing individual treats from the trunk or you may place it in their bag. As always, all adults are encouraged to dress up in costume! Please note that this is the only time you can see the kids “parade” through the trunk area – there will not be a separate Halloween parade.  

Additional Activities

In addition to the trunk-or-treat area, there will be other activities available to students to celebrate the holiday. Students will participate in relay races, bounce house obstacle courses, inflatable games and enjoy a special snack. We will be requesting parent volunteers to assist at each station. These stations will be outside, on the back athletic fields, and all volunteers will need to be masked.

Community Service

In addition to the fun activities planned for students, the Swain Association uses events like Trunk-or-Treat to encourage students to participate in a community service activity. In 2020, students were encouraged to bring in loose change for the “Change for Change” program benefiting two local organizations – the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown and Camelot for Kids. The classroom that collected the most change was awarded a dress-down day and an extra 30 minutes of recess time. This effort was so successful that we were able to donate over $2000 to the very deserving, local organizations. We can’t wait to see how much we can raise again! 

Swain also has a group of faculty members that plan out additional community service efforts and the students may participate in grade-level efforts, as well. 

Special Treat for the School

In lieu of the always-exciting donut eating contest, we will be providing each child with a nut-free treat to eat as a snack in their classroom.