Halloween Cancelled in NEWTON MASSACHUSETTS
Boston GLOBE EDITORIAL Costume drama via boston.com
October 29, 2005
IN THE shadowy mists of Celtic prehistory many hundreds of years ago, Halloween was a religious holiday. It is now an innocent rite of childhood, and the Underwood Elementary School in Newton should have the good sense to maintain the tradition of an annual Halloween celebration.
Instead, the principal, David Castelline, decided to cancel the festivities at the request of several parents who would otherwise not have sent their children to school Monday because the celebrations offended their religious sensibilities. ''I felt the goal was really important to make it a respectful and open and welcoming place for all members of our community," Castelline said of his school.
Halloween is not very respectful, but is welcoming to any child who likes to dress up in a costume and become someone or something else. It is one of the vivid shared experiences of growing up, fondly remembered for apple dunking, candy collecting, and innocent tricks. Even at the lower grades, schools are becoming places of hard work and grim determination. Halloween should be a time when learning is leavened by a costumed extravaganza..........
Principal Dr David Castelline of Underwood Elementary School located at 101 Vernon Street Newton, MA 02458 with a listed phone number of (617) 559-9660 is BEYOND the BRAINFART du Jour. Rather, David as I will call him since the Phd he acquired had to come from the back of magazine. No one with a REAL PHD who cared about the children would stoop as low to cancel Halloween. At Christmas we would call you THE GRINCH. You seem to be something worse. Something without a name. Or at least one I would not want to use in this public forum. YET.
The real question and issue is when are we as a society going to stop bending over to be PC to the often vocal but obvious MINORITY of screwballs in this world? Dear David has no business being involved with children on any level since it is obvious he is an asswipe of the highest order and a man with no spine to boot. Do all of us TAXPAYING citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a favor and RESIGN your post and STAY OUT OF TEACHING. Schools have enough problems without YOU creating more.
Of Course DAVID if you want, you, or someone from the Newton School system can REBUT and post your thoughts and stance here at anytime. I have emailed this post to the Newton School Board. Anyone else who would like to share your feelings about DAVID's canceling of Halloween can do so to this email address schoolcommittee@newtonpublicschools.com
Boston GLOBE EDITORIAL Costume drama via boston.com
October 29, 2005
IN THE shadowy mists of Celtic prehistory many hundreds of years ago, Halloween was a religious holiday. It is now an innocent rite of childhood, and the Underwood Elementary School in Newton should have the good sense to maintain the tradition of an annual Halloween celebration.
Instead, the principal, David Castelline, decided to cancel the festivities at the request of several parents who would otherwise not have sent their children to school Monday because the celebrations offended their religious sensibilities. ''I felt the goal was really important to make it a respectful and open and welcoming place for all members of our community," Castelline said of his school.
Halloween is not very respectful, but is welcoming to any child who likes to dress up in a costume and become someone or something else. It is one of the vivid shared experiences of growing up, fondly remembered for apple dunking, candy collecting, and innocent tricks. Even at the lower grades, schools are becoming places of hard work and grim determination. Halloween should be a time when learning is leavened by a costumed extravaganza..........
Principal Dr David Castelline of Underwood Elementary School located at 101 Vernon Street Newton, MA 02458 with a listed phone number of (617) 559-9660 is BEYOND the BRAINFART du Jour. Rather, David as I will call him since the Phd he acquired had to come from the back of magazine. No one with a REAL PHD who cared about the children would stoop as low to cancel Halloween. At Christmas we would call you THE GRINCH. You seem to be something worse. Something without a name. Or at least one I would not want to use in this public forum. YET.
The real question and issue is when are we as a society going to stop bending over to be PC to the often vocal but obvious MINORITY of screwballs in this world? Dear David has no business being involved with children on any level since it is obvious he is an asswipe of the highest order and a man with no spine to boot. Do all of us TAXPAYING citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a favor and RESIGN your post and STAY OUT OF TEACHING. Schools have enough problems without YOU creating more.
Of Course DAVID if you want, you, or someone from the Newton School system can REBUT and post your thoughts and stance here at anytime. I have emailed this post to the Newton School Board. Anyone else who would like to share your feelings about DAVID's canceling of Halloween can do so to this email address schoolcommittee@newtonpublicschools.com
posted by Cerebralwaste at 8:23 AM
7 Comments:
I received the email below from Deirdre J. Reade of the Newton School Committee. Please note how the "spin" is being played. This incident according to Deirdre was a "buildin-based decision" and not the collective BRAIN FART of the system itself. That ought to make the children feel so much better. Their friends at other schools in Newton get to have Halloween but not them.
this is the email:
Subj: Re: Underwood
Date: 10/29/05 2:01:37 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From: Dede_Reade@newton.mec.edu
To: Skunkcrazy@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to all School Committee
members. Due to the amount of correspondence and e-mails that the
Committee receives on a daily basis, it is not always possible for a
personal response. Please know that all correspondence is taken into
consideration as they make important decisions around educational matters.
Just for your information, in this specific situation this was a
building-based decision and is not a school system policy.
Deirdre J. Reade
Executive Secretary
School Committee
So I am happy someone at least responded to the email I sent. However does anyone have the guts in Newton to address the REAL issue??? HELLO... ANYONE HOME??????????
Deirdre thank you for the email. Please tell us more.
While my child does not attend Underwood rest assured if she did Monday would be her last day.
Halloween is time for all to enjoy and I agree with you as well that Mr. Castelline is not worthy of having the title of Dr. in front of his name.
I hope his contract is not renewed for I can assure all my child will never attend a school in Newton if he is at the helm.
I thought this post was a joke until I google'd it for myself.
UNBELIEVEABLE. WHAT AN IDIOT Newton has running that school.
I respectfully disagree with your comment regarding his Phd coming from the back of a magazine. No, this sort of thing, in my opinion, where commense sense and common sensibilities are so dramatically overridden can only be the result of a rigorous course of study necessary to attain a genuine Phd at one of our, er hem, enlightened universities.
AGA!
Thanks for stopping by!
Sadly you're probably correct. I will try and find out just were this Phd acquired his Phd. 10 to it was Ivy based. Takers??
I just can't believe that no one it the Newton School Board didn't have the stones to overturn this brainfart. Seems the more PC the better in the People's Republic of Newton.
A dickey-bird is saying that the religious objection came from Wiccans!
Anon
That wouldn't surprise me one bit!
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