Oct. 21, 2022
To Staff and the Twin Rivers School Community,
Halloween is a favorite among kids of all ages with all of the candy and treats given out. Our younger students also enjoy sharing bright, fun, and creative costumes, and the older students discuss where they can go trick-or-treating to ensure they collect as much candy as possible.
Sadly, given our nation’s current and urgent need to confront the fentanyl crisis, this Halloween there is a serious call-to-action for us to make sure that Halloween is safe for our children. As Halloween approaches, we are hearing the warnings about “rainbow fentanyl” that can look like candy and “powder” that looks like sidewalk chalk.
Given that student safety is always our top priority in TR, and that we strive to work with our families to create supportive communities for our children, I wanted to take some time to share with our parent and care provider partners these suggestions for Halloween safety, in general:
Consider:
- Allowing kids to only take candy from trusted neighbors, family and friends.
- Telling your children that you want to check their candy before they eat it.
- Avoiding homemade goods offered by someone you do not know well.
- Discarding candy if the wrapper is compromised or suspicious.
- Setting a curfew for trick-or-treaters, so they are not out too late on a school night.
- Advising older students who drive to be extremely careful when driving on Halloween night—keep your eyes on the road and look out for trick-or-treaters who are no doubt distracted by friends, decorations and their quest to collect candy.
- Reminding children to trick-or-treat in groups and check in with parents periodically.
For more Halloween Safety Tips, please visit the FDA Website.
Please remember that Halloween is on a school night this year, so in addition to helping your children have a fun and safe time, please remind them that we want them to arrive at school the next day on time and ready to learn.
With warm regards,
Steve Martinez, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Twin Rivers Unified
