Happy Halloween! This fun fall holiday calls for costumes, sweets, and trick-or-treats.

PALCS students have been celebrating all week long, with the Elementary Fall Festival happening in the West Chester office last Thursday the 25th, and the Pittsburgh office this Thursday, November 1. Middle school students on the east will also be able to enjoy the Fall Festival dance on Friday. Currently enrolled students can check the PALCSchool lobby for details.

While Halloween at home is a day filled with spooky, make-believe fun, it also brings real safety risks as children run the streets after dusk, with their minds focused on sweets. Here are some helpful trick-and-treating tips to help you and your kids stay safe this Halloween.

  • Make sure you carry glow sticks or flashlights so you can see better, as well as be seen by drivers.
  • Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
  • You know your kids the best, of course, but most Halloween safety tips recommend that parents accompany children under 12. If your child is venturing out without you, make sure that he or she will be with at least a few friends, or a parent, the entire night.
  • If you have a child under the age of three, make sure you check their candy before they dive in, and remove anything they could possibly choke on. Don’t forget that not all kids can safely eat every type of candy; try to avoid handing out candy with peanuts in them to avoid triggering any peanut allergies.
  • When sorting through candy at the end of the night, be sure to throw away any candy that is not in its original wrapper, or looks as though it has been opened.

Whether you are dressed up as a zombie, witch, pirate, or superhero this Halloween – we hope you stay safe and have fun! Tag us in your photos on social media, and hashtag #PALCSproud for a chance to win some fun PALCS swag!