Winnipeg school bans costumes on Halloween

WINNIPEG — A new Winnipeg school’s decision to stop students from wearing their costumes to class on Halloween has upset some parents, who argue its not fair to deny their kids the fun.

Ecole Sage Creek School principal Marc Poirier says since this is the Kindergarten to Grade 8 school’s first year, staff debated what the costume policy would be.

Sage Creek administration decided, in consultation with a student committee, to have four different themed dress-up days during the week where Halloween falls. On Oct. 31, Poirier said it will be “tie and scarf” day.

Jay Myshkowsky, a parent of two boys at the school, said his eldest son is disappointed since he’d been attending a school where costumes were allowed for the past five years. “I think there’s things that kids don’t realize have been taken away over the years, (like) Christmas concerts. There’s so many rules and regulations now around Valentines Day in school, how you invite kids’ classmates to birthday day parties — it’s all uber-regulated,” Myshkowsky said.

News reports in Canada and the U.S. have noted some schools have experienced problems with students wearing culturally inappropriate costumes, such as ones that portray stereotypes. Poirier, however, said that hadn’t been an issue noted by his staff when they discussed their experiences at their former schools.

He said most parents agreed with the decision to replace Halloween costumes with something else, but acknowledges a few didn’t.