St. Viator treats little ghosts and goblins

Halloween started early for 160 youngsters who attended the Halloween Fun Fair on Wednesday thrown by Saint Viator High School’s student council members.

Decked out in the latest costumes — from traditional super heroes and princesses, to a Twister board and Transformers — they found the school’s Cahill Gymnasium turned into a fun fair, complete with decorations, music, and 20 game stations and crafts tables to check out.

And that doesn’t include the treats. During the course of the two-hour event, nearly 3,000 pieces of candy were awarded at various games, and over 100 cakes and cupcakes were handed out at the popular cakewalk game.

“It’s always such an upbeat event,” says JoAnne Francis, student services director. “I get nothing but positive comments from parents, especially after meeting our students.”

In all, 125 Saint Viator student council representatives hosted the event, decked out in costumes themselves. What started out years ago as a service project for local neighborhood children has grown into one that increasingly draws from a wider area.

Mike Ryan, a 1993 Saint Viator graduate, came for the first time, with two of his children in tow.

“This is the first time I’ve been back in a number of years, but it’s fun to see all the improvements,” said Ryan of Arlington Heights. “We came with other families from their school. The kids are having a blast.”

So were their teenage hosts.

Senior Katherine Petrovich of Arlington Heights, who serves as co-president of the Interclass Council with classmate Steven Jensen of Mount Prospect, said the annual bash allows students to let their hair down as they welcome little ones to their school.

“It’s fun to be able to connect with little kids in a way that doesn’t have anything to do with school,” Petrovich said, in between helping youngsters at the craft table.

Jensen agreed, as he rebounded shots at the basketball shoot game.

“It’s always fun; I think the kids have a great time,” said Jensen, a swimmer and water polo player. “But I hope parents come away with a sense of the Viatorian atmosphere here. It just feels like family.”

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